


But She's Looking At You

by babinforaelin



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Aelin is a DJ, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Flirting, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Oral Sex, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Rowan is a bartender, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Vaginal Sex, Violence, need i say more?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:35:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25912942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babinforaelin/pseuds/babinforaelin
Summary: Maeve owns the best club in the city, but when Aelin shows up demanding answers from her Aunt, she is forced into one month of working as a DJ in her Aunt’s club in exchange for information. Along the way she meets Rowan and the rest of the cadre, who are working as bartenders in the club… and Rowan is given the task of babysitting Aelin for the month.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn
Comments: 9
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

Rowan Whitehorn moved with ease around the bar, quickly making drink after drink for sweaty customers as they pushed and shoved themselves off the dance floor. Working next to him were Gavriel and Vaughn, the three of them pouring shotst for the demanding and often flirtatious customers. ‘Doranelle’ was one of the most popular clubs in the city, run with brutal efficiency by his boss Maeve – “cold” and “kniving” were two of the nicer words that had been used to describe her, but who was he to judge when she had done so much for him? Rowan was determined to return the favour… even if it meant serving masses of perspiring and inebriated adults.

The club had multiple levels, and Meave had brought in world renowned interior designers to make sure that standards were high throughout the whole building. The entire club was centred around the ground-level dance floor, with staircases and elevators leading to the upper levels. It was a magnificent space, Rowan had to admit.

“Oi Whitehorn, Gavriel” Fenrys shouted as he swaggered up behind the bar. “Maeve wants you upstairs in her office. Sent me to cover the rest of your shift” he said, already flipping a bottle of rum in his hand in a rather successful attempt to impress the gaggle of women in front of him. Rowan and Gavriel merely exchanged a glance before wiping their hands and moving through the back of the club and up the stairs to the top floor. Whatever Maeve wanted them to do, Rowan doubted it would be pretty. 

* * *

“Ah Rowan, Gavriel. There you are.” Maeve purred as they entered into her office. Maeve looked the same as always – clad in a finely made dress (no doubt a designer brand) her long, black hair out and flowing past her waist. Her creamy skin was illuminated despite the deep lights emanating from the ceiling. Maeve’s whole office screamed of her wealth -black marble encrusted the walls and floor, and minimal yet expensive furniture was scattered around the room. The place was huge, with views that spread across the whole city on one side, and a network of CCTV televisions on her back wall. Maeve saw everything, Rowan knew. Nothing went on at Doranelle without her knowing.

She sat at her huge, mahogany desk, motioning for himself and Gavriel to come forward, but both men paused at the woman sat across from Maeve. Although she wore a dark hoodie and had her back to them, Rowan guessed from her build that she could be no older that 20. It was rare that Maeve had “guests”, and when she did they often didn’t leave unharmed. Rowan would know, as he was usually the one doing the dirty work. But for Maeve to want them to deal with someone so young… he would do it, of course, but a small part of him might feel bad about it. A quick glance at his companion and he knew Gavriel felt the same.

“Come.” She said, motioning with her elegant hand. “I want you to meet my darling niece, Aelin.”

Maeve’s smile was nothing short of wicked as she looked at the girl, and Rowan knew that their relationship was far from peachy. ‘Aelin’ didn’t even bother looking at the two men as she growled at Maeve, “I’m not doing this.”

Maeve’s serpentine smile disappeared and was replaced with a scowl she wore when she was done with pleasantries.

“You will do as I say girl. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I will bother helping you otherwise” she snarled. “Play along nicely and I will help you at the end of the month. Or you leave here with no information from me… and a rather painful goodbye gift from them” she said, waving her hand toward the two men.

The girl whipped her head around to face them, golden hair tumbling out of her hood and for a brief moment Rowan was struck by her eyes. They were the brightest of blues and ringed with gold that seemed flicker like wildfire… and they merely narrowed as her face fixed itself into a scowl. Most of Maeve’s “guests” took one look at Rowan, his massive build, silver hair and the wicked tattoo that scrolled from his temple and down left side of his body, and blanched. But Aelin merely cast a hate-filled glance at him, another at Gavriel and whipped her head back to face Maeve. If Rowan had cared, he might have felt annoyed at her complete lack of interest… or maybe he would have been impressed. 

“Your pretty boys don’t scare me, Aunt.” She spat.

Maeve simply smiled, “They should.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” She asked.

“I suppose you’ll just have to trust me.” There was a long pause, then Aelin gritted her teeth,

“Fine.”

Maeve’s smile grew, “Wonderful. Because you start now.”

* * *

Aelin continued to scowl as Rowan and Gavriel led her through the hidden staff hallways that lined the perimeter of the building. Gavriel (the nicer of the two men, she noted) attempted to make conversation with her, asking her where she was from and how long she had been a DJ for… though he asked nothing involving Maeve… Interesting. It seemed her aunt had these two wrapped around her finger. Not that Aelin particularly cared. She wasn’t here to make friends. She was here to do her part, get the information she needed and leg it back to Rifthold. Even if her meeting with her aunt hadn’t gone exactly to plan, she could work with this… no matter how painful. One month working as a DJ in Doranelle and Maeve would tell her what she needed to know… it seems her aunt had heard about her growing popularity as a DJ, even though Aelin always used her stage name, Celaena Sardothian. Regardless, here she was about to do a set for 200 people with no preparation. So typical of her aunt to throw her in the deep end in an attempt to put her on uneven footing… It was Maeve’s mistake really, to underestimate her.

“Here we are.” Grumbled Rowan, pushing open a door that led to the side of the stage. Aelin followed him and Gavriel trailed behind, finally having run out of questions to ask her. A scrawny teen, probably younger than her, bounded up to them. Luca, Rowan explained, was head of the stage tech team. He shook her hand enthusiastically and starting rambling about procedures and where she could put her things while she waited for her set. Once Luca started leading her away, Rowan left without another word… probably to go brood somewhere, Aelin thought. But Gavriel turned back to look at her and gave her a quick thumbs up before heading out after his partner. Aelin produced a small smile, if only because there was something familiar about him, but brushed it off as the DJ on stage finished his set, shouting at the crowd to follow him on instagram and to buy his mixtape.

“…so we are going to need your set to last around 20 minutes. We will give you more time later on but for your first night you can just test the waters. Have you even had prep time? I don’t think I could do it with no prep time… I mean I probably couldn’t do it anyway, I’ve never been good with crowds, but if I was I would still be hella nervous right now…” babbled Luca.

Aelin only half listened as she watched the crowd’s reactions from the side of the stage, which songs they liked and which ones sent them to the bar. Which tempo made them jump, which made them grind. Quicker than she anticipated, Luca nudged her up the stage.

“It’s showtime.”

* * *

Rowan, having returned to his shift at the bar, watched from the corner of his eye as Aelin walked into the centre of the stage and made quick work of setting up her laptop in preparation for her set.

“Who’s that?” asked Fenrys as he flipped another bottle in the air, before catching it again and pouring it into a glass. He gave it to a young woman with a wink.

Rowan didn’t bother answering.

“Aelin. Maeve’s niece.” Replied Gavriel from the other end of the bar.

“She’s pretty cute.” Fenrys said, pouring a cocktail, “Let me guess, Maeve says she’s off limits?”

Rowan snarled at him, “What do you think?”

Fenrys grinned to himself, “All the more reason to try.”

Rowan smacked him over the head with a hand towel. He would have snuck in another shot had a voice not shouted from speakers,

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR CELAENA SARDOTHIAN!”

Fenrys gaped, “Celaena Sardothian?! Meave’s niece is Cealaena Sardothian?” Rowan ignored him and Gavriel sent him a curious glance. Fenrys shook his head, “Seriously? You two don’t know Celaena Sardothian? She’s probably one of the best DJ’s to come out of the underground club scene in the past decade! Gods, Maeve must have pulled some serious strings to get her to even play a single gig here. I’ve heard she only ever plays in Adarland.”

To stop his babbling, Gavriel merely said, “Who would have thought.”

“Finally this club might not have the piss-poor music it usually does.”

Rowan smacked him over the head again, just as Celaena Sardothian began one of her infamous sets.

* * *

Aelin watched the crowd slowly filter back to the dance floor as the steady beat of her intro lured them in. She surveyed the swarm of people as they began to sway and grind to the music, gradually increasing the tempo as the song went on. Once the crowed had lulled themselves into a communal sway, Aelin built up the speed and brought in the first bass drop. A gaggle of girls in the middle of the dance floor screamed as they recognised the song, and the rest of the crowd begun to loosen up, swinging their hips and rolling their shoulders in time to the music. The energy in the room spiked as Aelin incorporated her second song, perfectly blending into the first.

From the corner of her eye she saw Luca bobbing to the beat as he began frantically typing into a nearby computer. Behind her, the LED screen began to light up, flashing colours behind her in time to the beat. She shot Luca a small smile and he returned it with a cheerful thumbs-up.

Aelin slowed the tempo back down in her third song, carefully monitoring the reaction to the change in pace. As she scanned the crowd she noticed Gavriel and Rowan behind the bar, watching her, with nothing else to do since everyone was on the dance floor. So they didn’t just serve as Maeve’s lackeys, Aelin thought to herself. Next to them was another man, perhaps a bit younger than the both of them enthusiastically singing along to one of the third song. He had deep brown skin, and a head of golden hair tied into a low bun. It seemed as though Maeve really did have a thing for pretty men. Realising she was looking at him, he gave her a smirk and a wink… only to have Rowan smack him in the back of the head. Very Interesting.

Aelin finished up her set, spiralling into the beat of her final song, using the tempo to build up the energy one last time. The crowd was jumping as Aelin gave them a final high, before ending her set by fading into a generic pop song. She efficiently disconnected her laptop from all the cables, and stalked off stage.

* * *

“That was amazing!” Fenrys exclaimed as the three men watched Aelin disappear backstage. Even Gavriel nodded in agreement, although his eyes were on the thick stream of people now headed their way. Although Rowan would never admit it out loud, the brat was definitely talented. But he still thought she was definitely more trouble than she was worth. He quietly left the bar again to find Aelin and give her the details for tomorrow, as Maeve had instructed, but when he arrived backstage Luca informed him that she had already left without so much as a goodbye to anyone. The girl was definitely trouble, and he knew he was going to have to deal with it.

* * *

Arriving back at her apartment, Aelin quickly and quietly turned her keys in the door. She pushed inside, hardly remembering to shut the door behind her before she started stripping out of her hoodie and jeans… not what she normally wore when she worked but Maeve hadn’t exactly left her much choice. Exhausted and relying mostly on muscle memory, Aelin made herself a cup of tea and proceeded to melt into the couch. As she reached for the remote for her TV, she noticed a small black envelope on her coffee table… A wax seal imprinted with an owl its only decoration. She picked it up and opened it, pulling out a simple letter:

Tomorrow. 6:00pm. 30 minute set. I know you have nicer clothes, so wear them. And do try to look excited, even if it kills you.  
~ M

If Aelin had the energy, she might feel unnerved that Maeve had sent one of her henchmen to break into her apartment, but Aelin took some satisfaction in knowing that whoever the intruder was they would have had to walk around countless pairs of her lacey underwear as it littered the floor. At the very least, let them report back to Meave that her niece had exquisite taste.


	2. Chapter 2

“Is she coming back tonight?” Fenrys excitedly asked Rowan as they walked up the stairs to Maeve’s office. It was 5:30pm, which meant they were running late thanks to Fenrys’ constant questions.

“She’s here every night.” Rowan said, pushing Fenrys up the stairs in front of him.

“But for how long?” he sighed, exasperated.

“Why does it matter?” asked Rowan as they reached Maeve’s office, his hand reaching for the door.

Fenrys turned and gave him a smirk, “I need to know how much time I get to work my masculine charm on her.”

Rowan gave him a sharp look before pushing him through the door.

* * *

The six men were all stood silently in front of Maeve’s desk, waiting for her to finish signing the numerous documents in front of her. She always did this. Kept them waiting. Not to irritate them, but to keep them in line. Yet Fenrys made it no secret that he had better things to do, as he sighed and rolled his eyes whenever Maeve signed a new document.

She finally lowered her pen, lounged back in her seat and gave them each a once-over.

“Lorcan. Did you succeed in your task last night?” She asked the dark-haired man at Rowan’s side.

“I did.” He replied with a nod.

“Good. What can you tell me about where she’s living?”

“She lives in an apartment toward the west side of the city. Decent enough for a girl who’s only planning to stay temporarily. I checked all the photographs too – seems like she left friends and a boyfriend behind in Rifthold.”

Maeve gave a serpentine smile, “Excellent. Now onto more pressing matters. I need someone to watch my niece for the duration of her stay. Tell me where she is going, who she is meeting. Someone to babysit the brat.”

Fenrys immediately stepped forward. “I would be glad to help.”

She simple pursed her lips at him, “I’m sure you would. Learn to mind your tongue and perhaps next time I will consider you. However I’ve decided Whitehorn would be better suited to this task.”

Rowan groaned inwardly. He wasn’t stupid enough to argue, so he simply schooled his features into an expressionless mask and nodded to his boss.

“Then it’s settled.” Maeve smiled like an adder.

* * *

Rowan watched Aelin from behind the bar, not even bothering to hide his scowl. Not when she didn’t bother hiding hers either. Sprawled over a booth seat in the darkened corner of the club, she glowered at him from behind the rim of her glass as she sipped. She lowered her rum and coke, and crossed her arms as she glared between Rowan and the consistent trickle of men and women that came to ask her to dance.

“This is so unfair.” Complained Fenrys from beside him.

Rowan couldn’t help but agree. He had better things to do with his time, as limited as it was. The last thing he wanted to do was spend his days babysitting an ungrateful, spoilt brat. Honestly Rowan still couldn’t understand why his boss had chosen him to deal with the girl – he was her second best employee, so why waste him on mundane tasks like this?

“…and she looks so cute tonight too.” said the pouting man beside him, his eyes glued to Aelin. Rowan supposed he hadn’t noticed yesterday, with her hoodie and jeans obscuring any real physical features. Tonight, however, Aelin had dressed to impress – a long-sleeved, white crop top underneath a set of light-denim overalls. Timberland boots clad her now crossed legs, and her hair was twisted into a pair of French braids down her back. Dark kohl lined those striking eyes… and Rowan had to admit (although begrudgingly) that she was attractive by societal standards. But one glance at that scowl, permanently etched on her face, and Rowan was ready to throttle her.

* * *

Aelin finished her (great) set at 11pm. How nice of her aunt to have her arrive 5 hours before she even needed to perform. So Aelin spent the time glowering at Rowan – her “babysitter” Maeve had told her upon her arrival. Like hell that was going to happen. Although Maeve hadn’t given her details, Aelin had no doubt that Rowan was under strict instructions to follow her home from the club… and everywhere else for that matter. Maeve was a manipulative bitch, and no doubt wanted as much information on her niece as possible. 

So after she finished her set, and the crowd stampeded back to the bar where Whitehorn was now trapped, Aelin made quick work of grabbing her things and jogging into the hidden staff halls. She had thoroughly searched the club last night, coming back after reading her aunt’s letter. She had worn a strappy red dress and a black wig, blending in effortlessly with the clusters of girls that filled the club. If people caught her snooping, she simply batted her eyelashes and made and excuse about trying to find the bathrooms.

Which meant that tonight, as she climbed up a stack of crates to a small window near the ceiling, Aelin was confident that her new “babysitter” wouldn’t find her easily. She shimmied herself out until her belly was pressed against the edge of the window, and gripped it with her palms. She leaned forward, tucking her head, and let her legs slide out after her torso until she was hanging from her hands on the outside of the building. Palms barking in pain, Aelin let go of the window and fell to the ground in a crouch before slipping into the night.

* * *

‘Where the fuck is she?!’ Rowan thought to himself as he frantically searched the club. Luca said she left through the staff hallways, but she couldn’t have known where the exits were. The hallways were a nightmare if you didn’t know where you were going, which she certainly didn’t. She hadn’t left from the front door or he would have caught her like he had planned. She had somehow wiggled her way out if his grasp in the space of 10 minutes. Perhaps Maeve had assigned him to look after this brat for a good reason after all. He was still contemplating the idea when he jogged passed a backroom – and picked up a feminine smell; perfume no doubt. He pushed open the door and saw the stacks of crates and the tiny window, far too small for him to squeeze through…. but a 20-year-old pain in his ass? A growl escaped him as he came to the realisation that this month would be far from easy.

* * *

Aelin was whistling to herself as she walked up the dark street, only a short distance from her apartment building, when she heard the scuff of boots against pavement coming from behind her. It was either a hardened criminal doing a piss-poor job of sneaking up on her, or that buzzard Whitehorn letting her know he was there. Part of her had hoped it was a criminal that she could rough up, but she knew Rowan had lethal grace and could certainly be stealthy if he felt like it. Perhaps creeping up on young woman was something that didn’t sit right, even with his brooding ass.

“I don’t want an escort, Rowan.” She spat his name, more than said it.

“After that little stunt you pulled with the window, I don’t think you even need one.” He snarled from behind her.

She turned and glanced at him from over her shoulder, “Then go run back to my aunt like the good lap dog you are.”

Quicker than she could detect, he lunged forward and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.

“I serve her, not you brat.” He let go of her with a slight shove.

In a darkened light of the street, Aelin understood why her aunt used Rowan as a tool for fear. He was a terrifying, and incredibly intimidating as his teeth neared her face and the lines of his tattoo hardened around his enraged expression.

But Aelin mustered up enough courage to give him a smirk, and looked him in the eye.

“Whroof.” She whispered, before whipping around and continuing the walk home. She almost laughed out loud when she got the satisfaction of hearing him growl in rage.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter includes a scene involving attempted rape. Nothing too graphic happens, but there’s some language and violence too. xx

It had been a week since their initial “disagreement”, but Aelin was certainly no closer to liking her babysitter. Not only did Rowan follow her home each night, albeit now some distance behind her, he had also made a habit of watching her apartment from the park across the road. When she had first spotted him from her window, she gave him a vulgar gesture with her middle finger and angrily slid the blinds down when he had returned it. Things hadn’t improved since then - if anything, they had worsened. Since Rowan had caught onto her improvised escape route, he made a habit of waiting for her backstage during her set and dragging her out the front doors of the club by her elbow. At first she had tried to pry her arm out of his grasp, but between his gigantic hands and abnormal strength, Aelin couldn’t do anything.

He had picked up on her routine now too. The first few days he had watched her like a hawk, and Aelin doubted he had slept at all. Eventually, as she read a book beside her window, she watched his form retreat down the street – no doubt to go home and sleep. If she had somewhere to go, she might have run then – but both she and Rowan knew that she was stuck here, despite her wishes, and wasn’t likely to wander too far.

* * *

“Buzzard.”

“Brat.”

This was their new form of greeting Rowan had discovered, as Aelin walked up to the bar to order a drink from Fenrys. It had shocked Rowan to find that Aelin actually found Fenrys just as annoying as he did, if not more so, as the two constantly bickered and bantered. However there was an undertone of friendship that lingered there, and Fenrys had gone from a lovesick pup to a light-hearted bully.

“What can I get you tonight, A?” Fenrys asked while stretching his arms over his head, already tired from his shift.

“Dont call me A, or I’ll start calling you FenFen or Feny, or maybe even Fenrysie if I’m feeling evil.” She said, a wicked smirk on her face.

He visibly shuddered. “Point taken. But seriously, what can I get you? Or are you just here to admire my handsome face and big muscles?”

Aelin huffed a laugh and gave him a wink. “Unfortunately for you, my standards aren’t that low. As for the drink…” she said, skimming her eyes over the cocktail list, “out of curiosity, what’s the hardest thing for you to make?”

Fenrys leaned on the bar as he thought. “Probably a mojito. They’re just really inconvenient.”

Aelin simply grinned up at him. “I’ll have two.”

Rowan quickly turned away to contain his smirk as Fenrys groaned and began mumbling insults toward the girl across the bar.

* * *

As word got around that Doranelle had a great new DJ, people had begun piling through the doors. While previously Maeve’s employees might have had a moment of rest, now the entire club was now in overdrive. It was a blessing in disguise, Aelin thought, as the club was now so busy that even Rowan had been called back to the bar from his usual spot backstage. Sensing he was being watched, Rowan met her eyes as she continued mixing tracks together and sending the crowd into a frenzy. As if he could see the plan unfurling in her mind, he hardened his features into a tight scowl and shook his head at her.

Don’t you dare, he seemed to say. Aelin gave him the small smile she knew irritated him beyond belief.

Once she had finished her set for the night, and had triple checked that Rowan was preoccupied making drinks, she grabbed her things and waltzed right past the boys at the bar. Rowan looked up just in time to catch her middle finger turn into a sarcastic wave of her hand, before she walked right out the front doors.

* * *

Hands in her pockets, Aelin wandered through the deserted streets as she made the trek home. It was close to 2am now, and she would have caught a cab had the night air not been so refreshing. Usually Wendlyn was sticky and humid, so different from the cool breezes in Rifthold or the icy air in Terrasen. Aelin missed home, missed her friends, even missed her dog. She wanted nothing more than to board the next plane back to Adarlan, but she knew she had to wait this out. Play by Maeve’s rules until she had what she needed.

Aelin was still longing for home when she heard a rowdy cheer from a group of men as she walked past a run-down bar. Not in the mood to deal with cat-calls or something far worse, Aelin ignored them and kept walking. Hearing a cluster of footsteps from behind her, she quickened her pace.

“Hey cutie! Why don’t you stay and talk to us for awhile?” Shouted one of the men and the rest of them laughed. “We just wanna get to know you.” Shouted another.

Aelin turned down the next street, praying to whatever gods that they wouldn’t follow. They did, continuing to shout vulgarities at her. Aelin turned down another street, and started sprinting for the next. She heard the thundering of their feet against the road as they tore after her, faster than inebriated men should have been. She turned down three more side streets before she stumbled down another, instantly realising her mistake. It was a dead end.

“Here pretty, pretty.” One of the men drawled. They rounded the corner, chuckled to each other and began to stalk her down the alley. “Don’t make this difficult for us baby,” purred a blonde man at the head of the pack, “this can be fun for all of us, I promise.”

They were getting closer now. There were five of them in total. Aelin thought back to her upbringing, to all that she had learned. She forced a simmering smile onto her face.

“All right boys, you win.” She smiled, making a come-hither motion to the ringleader, who grinned as two men gave him a pat on the back. He backed Aelin against the dirty brick wall behind her, and leaned an hand beside her head.

“What can you do for us baby?” He mumbled, leaning in.

“I can do lots of things.” She said, as she ran a finger down his chest, stopping just above his belt. The man groaned, hips bucking toward her hand.

“Fuck, baby. Show me.” He growled.

Aelin gave him a grin. “Okay.”

Faster than he could detect, Aelin slammed his arm up off the wall and into the air, and before he had a chance to shield himself she pushed him off her and slammed a leg into his stomach. He crumpled to his knees in front of her and she cracked her palm into the side of his head, knocking him to the damp ground.

Step one: Lure them in. Check.

Step two: Get them angry.

By the expressions on the faces around her, Aelin assumed she was well on her completing that step too.

When fighting against the inexperienced, getting them angry also meant making them sloppy. It had been one of the first things Arobynn had taught her.

As one, the men charged at her. The first man to reach her swung his fist at her face, but she dodged the hit and caught his arm. Before he could react, she slammed it down over her knee with a rather satisfying crack. His screaming filled the alley as she pushed him toward the third man, knocking him over. Another came from behind her, forearm pushing against her neck, choking her. She slammed her heel on his foot, feeling the crunch of bone and whipped around to face him. His face was twisted into a snarl as he limped toward her. Aelin spun and roundhouse kicked him in the face, sending him head-first against the brick wall of the alley.

Back exposed, Aelin whipped around to face the last two men, just in time for a fist to connect with her nose. Not hard enough to break it, but blood began dribbling onto her lip. She was stunned enough for one of the men to grab her by the waist and drag her to the ground. Kicking and scratching Aelin tried to pry his hands off her, but the second man was now on her too, forcing her hands to the ground as his friend straddled her legs.

“You sneaky little bitch.” Spat the man on her legs, as he moved to unbutton her jeans. But before he could, there was a flash of silver as he was yanked off her by an invisible force and thrown to the ground. Aelin blinked as a Rowan crushed the man’s scull against the stones with his foot, before striking like an asp and smashing his boot into his ribs. He left the man groaning on the ground, his attention shifting quickly to Aelin’s bleeding face and then to the man still holding her. Before the man or Rowan could sense, Aelin pushed her legs off the ground and brought them around the man’s neck. Using all her strength she pulled him over her and straight toward Rowan, who blinked in surprise as the man was catapulted at his feet. Not wasting a second more, Rowan dragged him by the neck to a standing position and shoved him face first against the wall. Rowan pushed against his back growled into the man’s ear before slamming his head against the brick and knocking him out cold.

* * *

Sitting in the middle of McDonalds at 3am with Aelin was not exactly how Rowan had pictured his night ending up -especially not after what he had seen. Yet here they were, Aelin struggling to eat her burger and blot her bloodied nose at the same time. There were only a few other people around them, all of them glancing at Aelin when they thought she wasn’t looking. Rowan doubted she cared, and was more obviously more concerned with her BigMac.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” he asked slowly. She didn’t seem traumatised by the whole experience, as many others would be, but he still didn’t want to push her. Not with something like this.

Aelin stiffened, and swallowed a large gulp of her drink. “I could ask you the same question.”

Fair. “If I tell you, will you tell me?” he asked, leaning back in his seat.

He watched her contemplate the idea, spooning soft-serve into her mouth. Gods, the girl could eat. When she lowered the spoon, she looked him in the eyes and nodded.

“I served in the police force for a few years but I decided to leave for… personal reasons. After that Maeve got a hold of me and I’ve been working for her ever since.” He said.

“That’s a bit of a turn around. From policeman to henchman.”

Rowan sighed. “Maeve helped me when I needed it the most. Who am I to turn away from that?”

They were silent for a few moments, Aelin slurping the rest of her drink, before she started.

“I was found and raised by a man who had dealings in cockpit fighting. When I was young he saw my potential and took me in, trained me, and taught me how to be street smart.”

He sensed there was more to the story, but decided not to push it.

“Thank you. By the way.” Aelin blurted at him. “I don’t know how that would have ended if you hadn’t shown up… How did you find me anyway?”

“After you left I had to convince Fenrys to cover the rest of my shift. Then I followed your usual path home until I … I smelled your scent, but it lead down a side street. I knew something wasn’t right so I followed my hunch and found you just as the first guy walked up to you.” He said, averting his eyes, worried she was embarrassed about what she had said.

Aelin’s jaw dropped as she gaped, “I smell that bad?”

Rowan rolled his eyes as he stood up, “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

* * *

True to his word, Rowan walked her to the door or her apartment building. They had talked a lot during the trek, and although a part of her hated to admit it, Aelin couldn’t say she despised the guy anymore. She didn’t show it, but tonight had shaken her up, and if Rowan hadn’t swooped in when he did…. Aelin didn’t finish the thought. Perhaps it was that kindness, or the flicker of concern behind his eyes that made her ask, “Would you like to come up… for some tea or something? I don’t really have any food at the moment but I can make some mean two-minute-noodles.”

Rowan chuckled. “Thanks, but not tonight.”

Aelin gave him a small smile and nodded, walking into the building. She was far from liking the guy, but a part of her was saddened by his response. She watched him walk a few feet before he paused, then turned around to face her again.

“Aelin… I’m glad you’re okay.” Was all he said before continuing back down the street.

This time, her smile was genuine.


	4. Chapter 4

Light streamed through Aelin’s bedroom window, waking her from a deep sleep. Sitting up, still groggy, she shuffled out of bed and to the kitchen in the hopes of finding something edible. As she pattered around the space, she noticed a small piece of paper jutting out from under her front door. Curious, Aelin lifted it and smiled to herself.

**Here’s my phone number. For emergencies ONLY. Next time you run off and do something stupid, at least text me about it first.**

****

****

**-RW**

She flipped the piece of paper and true to his word, a string of numbers were written. She quickly found her phone and added him to her contacts, contemplating for a few moments before sending him a text: 

**Why must you be such a mother hen?**

Some minutes passed and Aelin supposed that he wouldn’t bother replying to something that wasn’t an emergency. But her phone beeped and she hastily opened the message. 

**From Buzzard:**

****

****

**Why must you be such a raging pain in my ass?**

Aelin grinned.

Touché.

* * *

Aelin was a bit confused as to why she was cramped in Maeve’s office with six big, brooding men. They were all standing around her desk in a line; Aelin pushed to the end next to Fenrys (who looked about as excited as she felt).

Maeve folded her hands beneath her chin.

“Tomorrow is going to be run differently from usual. An old employee of mine has hired out Doranelle for her birthday party. The whole event is going to begin at midday and go through to midnight, so I need each of you to be here for the entirety of the party. The club will still be open to the public during the night, but the entire bottom floor is strictly reserved for her guests. Understood?”

Beside her her, she heard Fenrys groan – too quietly for Maeve to hear, but enough that Aelin pitied him. A twelve-hour shift… Aelin doubted she could even create a mix that went for that long.

As if sensing her thoughts, Maeve’s eye slid to her niece. “Aelin, you won’t have to DJ the full 12 hours; only 2 at the beginning of the party and 3 later on in the evening. However the rest of the time I expect you and Rowan to be mingling with guests. ” Aelin snuck a glance at Rowan, but his expressionless face told her nothing. “There are some… particular guests who are interested in meeting you, and our birthday girl has specifically requested Rowan to accompany her for the night. I believe you have both met before. You remember Remelle?” purred Maeve, and Rowan stiffened.

* * *

“Your ex?!” Aelin exclaimed as she and Rowan walked to her apartment that night. Rowan groaned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

“It’s not a time I remember fondly.” He admitted. “If anything I really regret it.”

“But what does she want from you now? Does she … want you back or something?”

Rowan sighed, craning his head to look at the night sky. “I honestly don’t know. I’m more curious about what Maeve wants you there for.”

Aelin raised a hand to her mouth in a mock gasp. “Is that concern I detect? Who would have thought there was a heart underneath that stone-cold exterior.”

He gave a small chuckle, as he walked her to the door of the building. “Just be careful.”

* * *

Rowan hated his life. They were only an hour into Remelle’s birthday party and he already wanted to murder someone. Maeve had forced everyone up to the rooftop bar, which was usually a nice space at night. However in the middle of the day, under the pulsing Wendlyn sun, it was the worst place to be. As a result he’d removed his jacket to avoid getting heat stroke, and Remelle had taken it as an invitation to caress her hands all over his chest (despite his polite protests) while they sat under one of the trees. She was the same as always – vapid, vain and self-important; qualities that had annoyed him just as much then as they did now. If he was being honest, he would rather be working at the bar then sitting with her. He would have, had it not been Maeve’s request that he stay with her. But he wasn’t going to disobey his boss, not even if it meant he had to endure this. Rowan blocked out Remelle’s useless chatter and let his eyes wander. Fenrys, Gavriel and Vaughn were all working at the bar with brutal efficiency as Remelle’s guests greedily took advantage of the free bar tab. Lorcan and Conall were both posted at the door to the rooftop, serving as bouncers while they checked the guest list. Aelin was at the center of it all, stood on the temporary stage that had been set up for the occasion. Despite her disinterested expression toward everyone and everything, Rowan couldn’t help but cast an appreciative eye over her form. She was clad in very tight, red bodysuit that haltered around the neck and dipped low down the front to expose the curve of her breasts. Not that he was looking. She paired it with high-waisted denim jeans (that hugged her figure just as tightly) and a set of bold, white heels.

“Rowan are you listening?” demanded Remelle, as she grabbed his chin and twisted his head to face her.

He yanked his chin out of her hand. “Sorry. I got distracted.”

* * *

Sliding sunglasses over her eyes, Aelin wanted to be anywhere but here. The rooftop bar was packed full of Remelle’s guests, which did nothing to help the already sweltering heat. She was melting under the Wendlyn sun, and the only shade she could escape to was being hogged by Rowan and the birthday girl. She had yet to speak to the woman, but if she was anything like her guests (pushy and rude), she had no doubt in her mind that she would despise her. It certainly didn’t help that Aelin had to watch her paw at Rowan for the entirety of her performance. For his sake she hoped Remelle got bored of him and moved to the dancefloor or the bar – the latter was too busy for Aelin to even bother lining up for a drink.

“Excuse me, dear. Are you Celaena Sardothian?” came a voice from behind her. She turned and came face to face with a man, probably in his mid-twenties. Nice enough to look at, she supposed, but behind his eyes lay something loathsome.

“I am. May I ask who is enquiring?” She replied, though not particularly interested thanks to the oppressive heat.

He smirked, coming a step closer. “My name is Benson. I’m friends with the birthday girl.” Brilliant. “I’ve heard about your success in Rifthold and wanted to chat to the infamous performer myself.”

Aelin was not in the mood for compliments, but had no doubt that if she was rude to Maeve’s guests her aunt might very well call off their deal, so she simply replied, “I’m flattered.”

Benson took her response as a sign to start up a lengthy conversation. Aelin endured it, even as he pushed his body closer to hers despite the heat. His eyes wandered over her body numerous times throughout their conversation, and when she caught them lingering on her breasts Aelin contemplated throwing him off the rooftop.

* * *

Slowly the humidity of the day had drifted into a cool twilight breeze, yet Rowan’s temper only flared. Remelle was still stuck to his side, and he had watched Benson follow Aelin around all afternoon, despite her obvious annoyance. Rowan had only met the man a few times during his relations with Remelle, but knew for a fact that he was sly and vile creature. It seemed that Aelin had figured that much out for herself as mumbled some excuse to the man and slipped into the bathroom.

A few minutes later Rowan’s phone buzzed.

**From: Brat**

****

****

**SOS!!!!!! Please come and save me from this leech!!!! And yes, this classifies as an emergency.**

Rowan glanced just as she slowly emerged from the bathroom. He met her pleading gaze from across the rooftop and decided to throw her a bone.

He removed Remelle’s hand from his chest and stood up from their spot under the tree.

“Where are you going?” she pouted, tugging his sleeve.

“Maeve just messaged me – needs me to run a quick errand.”

“Fine. I’ll be on the dance floor when you’re finished. Come and find me.” She said as she too stood up and eased herself into the throng of guests. Rowan didn’t waste time watching her as he started into a fast walk, pushing past people until he spotted Aelin. Benson had backed her into a corner, and when she spotted Rowan in the crowd her eyes lit up.

“Benson.” He said, startling the man. “Someone is asking for you at the bar. Says it’s urgent.”

Looking annoyed that he had to cut his time with Aelin short, he asked “Who is it?”

“If I had known, I would have told you.”

Benson looked contemplative for a moment, obviously not wanting to leave.

“They stressed how urgent it was.” Rowan pushed. Reluctantly Benson sighed, lifted Aelin’s knuckles to his lips and then left.

Once he was a considerable distance away, Rowan turned to her. “This is the second time I’ve saved you. Careful or ill start pulling for favours.”

Aelin grinned. “You can pull as many favours as you want, so long as you keep him away from me.”

Rowan sighed through his nose. “I can’t stay for long.”

Her smile faltered a bit. “Remelle?” she guessed, and Rowan simply nodded.

“Well if you decide you’re sick of getting coddled all night, text me and I promise to come and save you.” She said with a wink. Despite himself, Rowan grinned.

“Deal.”

* * *

Aelin finished her final set of the night, praising whatever gods were listening for letting her leave. She was packing up her things when her phone beeped in her back pocket. She pulled it out and saw a message from Rowan.

**From: Buzzard**

****

****

**I’m calling in my favour. Now.**

She spotted the back of his silver hair tucked away in a booth; next to him sat Remelle who was pushing her breasts against his arm as she leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Aelin considered leaving him there as punishment for asking her to stay just as she was set to leave, but deep down she knew she wouldn’t do it. Not when he had rescued her from Benson.

Shouldering her bag, she walked up to Fenrys at the bar and ordered two drinks.

“Kill me.” He groaned as he plunked ice-cubes into a glass, utterly defeated after 12 hours of work.

Aelin would have chuckled had she not felt the same. When he slide her the finished drinks, she thanked him and began making her way to the booths.

“Here’s the drink you asked fo- oh. I didn’t realise you were with someone.” She said while placing a glass in Rowan’s opened hand. Remelle glared daggers at Aelin, annoyed that her time with him was being interrupted. To piss her off even more, Aelin seductively leaned over the table to place her own glass down, making sure that both sets of eyes had a good view of her plunging neck-line. Rowan shifted in his seat. She then eased herself into the seat across from them and swung one long leg over the other.

“Rowan, who’s this?” demanded Remelle, who didn’t even bother with politeness.

Hiding his smile, he mumbled, “This is … Celaena. She’s a DJ here. Celaena, this is Remelle.”

Aelin smirked at Remelle. “A pleasure.”

Remelle just looked down her nose at her before she turned back to Rowan and started playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

She had never seen the silver-haired man look so uncomfortable. To put him out of his misery, she leaned forward and pouted at him.

“Rowan, when are you going to take me home? I’m so tired. I just want to go to bed.”

Remelle stiffened, and then whipped her head to glare at Aelin, attempting to piece together what she had just said. Content to let her assume the worst, Rowan stood and grabbed his jacket.

“Enjoy the rest of your party, Remelle.” Was all he said before he and Aelin left the club.

* * *

“Thank you for doing that.” Rowan said to her, as they walked up to her apartment. She had convinced him to carry her backpack up the stairs for her, complaining that it was too heavy. She smiled, rustling her hand through it while he held the strap. “It’s fine. You did the same for me.”

She pulled out her keys and moved to unlock her door.

“Hopefully she won’t bother you too much after tonight.”

The door opened with a click, and Rowan gave her the bag.

“Goodnight, Aelin.”

She gave him a small smile.

“Goodnight, Rowan.”


	5. Chapter 5

Thunder grumbled overhead and big drops of rain began splattering against the pavement. The humidity of the day had built up within the clouds and was now unleashing havoc upon Wendlyn. Winds picked up and lightning crackled against the inky, black sky. Aelin pulled back the sheer curtain in her bedroom and strained her eyes to see Rowan slumped against a tree across the street. She felt bad enough that he had to waste his time spying on her anyway, let alone in the middle of a thunderstorm. Sighing, she pulled the curtain closed, grabbed her keys and trudged out the front door in nothing but her nightgown and a jacket. She took the stairs two at a time and swung open the front door of her apartment building. Seeing her, Rowan straightened.

“You’re of no use to Maeve if you catch a cold, Buzzard!” She shouted over the thunder. He merely went back to leaning against the tree, apparently content to freeze to death. Aelin’s eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at him.

“Rowan Whitehorn! If you don’t come inside right now, I will go out there and drag you in myself!” She near-screamed.

Rowan paused for a moment before he sighed and pushed off the tree. She watched as he stalked over to her, his legs taking long and powerful strides. He was dressed in all black, his silver hair plastered to his face and pulled into a low pony-tail. A very small part of Aelin purred at the sight of him. She smacked it back into place.

Rowan walked to the steps of the building, and stopped once he was undercover. Standing four steps above him, Aelin matched his height. He cocked his head at her, the movement sending drops of water rolling down his jaw.

“Happy?” he asked sarcastically.

Aelin grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket and pulled him up the steps and through the door.

“No.” was all she grumbled.

* * *

Her apartment was vastly different from what he had expected. Lorcan had described it as “nice enough”, but had failed to mention the girl’s obvious taste for finery. While Maeve’s style was minimal but stylish, Aelin obviously revelled in luxury. Despite the apartment appearing to be a mashup of her own belongings and the pre-purchased furnishings, it was homely and opulent at the same time. The walls appeared to be made from the original brick of the building, and Aelin had lined them with art – abstract paintings, traditional woodblock prints from the southern continent… It was all up there. To his left was a relatively large kitchen, where Aelin was in the process of making them tea. The bench-top’s were clad in white marble, and the stainless-steel appliances reflected the warm light in space. To his right was a spacious loungeroom, and a huge cream-coloured sofa wrapped itself around the large TV in an L shape.

“I’m half surprised you aren’t living in a hovel.” He said to her as she padded over to him, two mugs in her hand.

“Not all of us like that sort of lifestyle, Whitehorn.” She winked as she pressed the mug into his hand. The smell of jasmine wafted up to his nose and he breathed it in.

“Drink.” She demanded.

“I don’t want tea.” He shot back.

“I don’t care. You’ll get sick, and you’re already grumpy enough as is.”

She sashayed back to the kitchen and he followed her, unable to stop the chuckle that escaped him as he sipped his tea. Though she wouldn’t say it, Rowan knew this was Aelin’s own special way of caring for him. And after so much time alone, he was grateful someone bothered to look after him… even if it meant he was being bullied into submission by a child.

He sat on one of the stools that had been dragged under the island in the middle.

“You hungry?” she mumbled as she rummage through the pantry.

“No.”

“Don’t lie.”

Rowan sighed. Fine. He would eat and then go back and finish his watch for the night.

“I need to go shopping so we’re limited to cheese, crackers, choc chip cookies and some dried apricot.” She said as she placed each item on the tabletop in front of him. She then shoved her hand into the packet of apricots and started munching.She was a menace, he decided as he started slicing cheese for the both of them. An absolute menace.

“You’re apartment is nice.” he said, taking another sip of tea.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Were you expecting to see my expensive lingerie littering the place?”

He choked on his tea. She grinned at him.

“Lorcan, ah…” he coughed, “might have mentioned it.”

“Don’t worry Whitehorn, I’ve washed my clothes since then. Otherwise I’d have none left and would have no choice but to run around without underwear each day.”

Rowan tried as best he could to block the image.

“I’m sure Fenrys would love that.” He mumbled into his mug.

Aelin gave a hearty laugh. 

“For all his talk, Fen wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Besides, you know just as well as I do that we wouldn’t touch each other with a ten-foot stick.”

Rowan smiled. It was true.

He glanced at his watch and the smile vanished. Sighing through his nose, he stood up.

“I have to go finish my watch. Thank you for the tea and the food.”

Aelin raised an eyebrow at him, just as a crack of thunder shuddered outside.

“Like hell you are.”

* * *

The two of them were sat on the lounge, and the clock read that they were well into the night… or the morning. They had been sharing stories and secrets for nearly two hours, and Aelin reluctantly admitted to herself that she was enjoying it more than she should have been. Rowan had lived an incredible life, filled with adventures and tales from when he was in the police force. But she knew he wasn’t telling her the full story.

“Rowan…” he looked at her questioningly, “…why did you leave the police?”

His face dropped, and she knew that she had asked something of him he may not want to share. She was about to move their conversation elsewhere when he started.

“It’s… not the easiest for me to remember. But five years ago I was slowly rising through the ranks in the police departments, and I got drunk on the feeling of it - the taste of success as I did better and better. I was being given more dangerous jobs and was taking them without question in the hopes that it would boost me further up the ranks. My…. my fiancé Lyria wasn’t happy with me putting myself in danger all the time, and begged me to slow down, but I never did. And one day the department sent me undercover to a city overseas…. and when I came back…” he took a deep breath, “when I came back, I found Lyria dead in our house. Dead because I hadn’t been there to protect her when a group of thugs came through our home and dragged her from bed. I found out weeks later that she’d been pregnant with our child…. and I’d just left her there. I hadn’t been there to stop it.”

Aelin didn’t know what to say, or what to do to ease the pain that was leaking out of him. So she blinked back the tears that had welled in her eyes and started.   
“His name was Sam… and I loved him more than the world. We grew up together in Rifthold, raised by Arobynn to hate each other. He would make us fight each other until we were both battered and bruised. But as we got older we realised that we didn’t despise one another at all. We’d planned to run away together, live out our days across the oceans… but when Arobynn found out…” she wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, “He sent me to a fight in the Pits that night, while he had a local gang leader come for Sam. When I finished the fight and came home, I couldn’t find him anywhere. I worked myself into a frenzy, and when Arobynn told me what they did to Sam… I snapped. My world got turned upside down and I lost it completely. It wasn’t until later that I found out it had been Arobynn who’d ordered Sam’s death. And when I came for him, he had me dragged away in chains to an illegal detention centre in the salt mines of Endovier…. I only got out last year.”

They both stared at each other, too stunned for words.

“Is that why you’re here? To get help from Maeve so you can kill Arobynn?” he asked gently.

She looked him in those green eyes, so much softer than when she had first men him.

“I can’t tell you Rowan. I wish I could, but I can’t. Not while you work for her.”

He gave a defeated sigh.

“Why do you even work for her? You must know that she’s cruel and manipulative.”

Rowan ran a hand down his face before he explained.

“After Lyria, I left the police force and I wandered for some years. I had no purpose, I deliberately wasted my life in the hopes that it would end sooner. I was a wreck, Aelin. But Maeve had been watching me, and she knew of my history and my potential… and she offered me the deal. I work for her as long as she see’s fit, and in return she gave my life purpose again. A reason to be needed.”

Aelin shook her head. “You made a deal with the devil, Rowan. She’s using you.”

He looked down at the now empty mug in his hands. “I know.”

“Is there any way for you to get out of the contract? Anything you can offer her that might get her to let you go?”

He shook his head. “Even if there was I have no place to go. Nothing to do.”

Aelin sighed in defeat.

“You’re depressing me, Buzzard.”

“Same to you, Brat.”

They were silent for a few moments before Aelin checked the clock.

“What time do you need to head back home?”

He check the watch at his wrist.

“I’ll need to leave here in a few hours.”

“Good. Then you can have a nap here and I’ll wake you when it’s time for you to go.”

He watched her long legs as she rose from the couch, and for the fun of it she made sure to stretch her body, hiking her already short nightgown even further up her body, as she reached for a spare pillow in a cupboard down the hall.

When she turned back, he was looking anywhere but at her. She would have laughed out loud if the atmosphere hadn’t been so depressing. She handed him the pillow and took the mug from him. He knew better than to argue about this with her, so she watched as he shrugged off his jacket and dumped it on the floor next to the couch. He kicked off his boots, and leaned back against the couch, crossing his ankles as he stretched back like a big, silver cat.

She glared at him.

“If I wake up and you’ve disappeared into the night I will gut you.”

He chuckled and shoved the pillow underneath his head.

Lighting cracked and illuminated the world outside.

“Trust me Aelin, I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

Rowan awoke to the sounds of Aelin padding through her apartment, grumbling to herself. He rose on his elbows, and peered at her from over the back of the couch. She was dressed in a grey crop-top and very tight, black leggings. Noticing him she paused, and grinned.

“Good morning.”

Morning? Rowan checked his watch.

“You let me sleep in!” He exclaimed as he quickly began shoving his feet into his shoes.

“You just looked so cute. All snuggled up. You couldn’t expect me to wake you up from your hibernation, could you?” She teased.

“You are the bane of my existence.” He growled at her.

“Oh boohoo. Besides, you needed the sleep.”

“Aelin, I could have had places I need to be!”

She leaned over the edge of the couch, raising an eyebrow.

“And do you?”

“…no.”

She ruffed a hand through his hair and he swatted it away.

“Wonderful. Because we’re getting breakfast and then going shopping.”

* * *

They had been wandering the grocery store for what felt like hours, and Aelin had bullied him into pushing the trolley. He’d come to the conclusion that the girl was a shopaholic, as he watched her place copious items into the trolley until it’s wheels were struggling to handle the substantial weight of it all. She strolled past a gold lighter, and like a moth attracted to flame she had it in her hands in the blink of an eye.

“Aelin you don’t even smoke. Put it back.” He grumbled, just wanting to go home.

“No. I’ve used up all the matches back home. How else am I supposed to light the scented candles in my apartment?” she pouted.

“With that hot-headed personality?” he grumbled and she kicked him in the leg.

* * *

Between the two of them, they lugged the groceries up the stairs and into Aelin’s apartment. Shoving everything onto the kitchen bench, they collapsed on the stools and took a few moments to breathe. They were both incredibly fit people, but Aelin’s ridiculous groceries had been far from light. Even for them.

“All this exercise has made me hungry.” She groaned.

Rowan gave her a look.

“Then make something. We just bought about 5,000 things at the shops.”

Aelin made a whining noise and lowered her head to her hands. “But there’s a really nice bakery just down the road…” she trailed off, turning her head to glance at him.

He glared at her. “Sweets are bad for you.”

She pouted.

He sighed and stood up. Knowing she’d won, Aelin grabbed her keys and pushed him back out the front door.

“I knew I could convince you. You’re paying, by the way.”

* * *

Jumping up and down with the rest of the crowd, Aelin was illuminated against the flashing LED screen behind her. Rowan cleaned a glass as he watched her. Doranelle was at maximum capacity, so much so that Maeve had started a waiting list for customers who were desperate to dance the night away. Celaena Sardothian had well and truly fulfilled her share of the bargain… Maeve must have been brimming with joy at the sight of her club packed to its absolute limits. Aelin… she shone so brightly that people were naturally drawn to her. Gone was the bitter girl he had first met that day in Maeve’s office. Though it had only been a few weeks, Aelin had shown herself to be stronger than any of them had realised. Rowan’s conversation with her last night had proved that. They were just as broken as each other, yet Aelin had pulled herself out of despair to fix something…. change something.

As Rowan watched Aelin perform that night, he realised that a cold and harsh part of himself was starting to melt. He didn’t know when it had started, or what it was about this hot-headed girl that made him restless about wasting his life away. But he knew that when the time came for him to say goodbye, it very well might break him all over again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 90% of this is graphic Rowaelin smut, but even if that not your jam I insist that you skip to the end for a bit of a surprise :) Enjoy

Aelin waited backstage for Rowan to finish his shift at the bar. Thanks to Celaena Sardothian, the club was at maximum capacity and the rest of the staff couldn’t spare Rowan while he watched Aelin perform. Earlier in the month it would have annoyed her to have to wait around for him, but they were three weeks in and to her surprise, she found she was more than happy. Though she would never admit it out loud, Aelin knew that she was going to miss this place. Miss the music and the crowds, miss Fenry’s and his constant banter. Perhaps the most, she would miss Rowan. He had somehow crept his way into her life and she wouldn’t know what to do when the time came to say goodbye. He would be across the ocean, so far away from her that she might not be able to cope when she arrived back in Rifthold.

“You ready to go?” grumbled Rowan from behind her.

She turned to him and swung her backpack over her shoulder. Giving him a smile she nodded.

* * *

It had been a week or so since Rowan had first stayed the night, and now he spent far more time than he should have nestled up in her apartment. At first, Rowan had rejected her offers. Her reasoning was that if he had to keep an eye on her, he may as well do it in the comfort of her apartment. He had told her that it was improper. Rowan had known it was the wrong thing to say, and mentally smacked himself when Aelin intentionally started wearing shorter and lacier nightgowns. He knew what she was doing, and he hated to admit it, but it was working. Soon he stopped bothering to reject her requests, and now the two of them walked side by side up to her apartment. Aelin clicked open the door and went straight to the kettle, beginning their nightly ritual of making jasmine tea. Rowan shut the door behind them and began wandering around her apartment. Sat on one of the tables lining the wall was a series of photographs in white frames. Rowan picked one up and looked at it. Aelin was with a group of people, all relatively close to her age. Judging by her appearance, the photo couldn’t have been more than a year old. From what Aelin had told him of her friends, he was able to pick her mirror-image Aedion, and the beautiful Lysandra. Behind them was Dorian, his arm slung around a girl with snow-white hair – Manon. The image showed Aelin pressed into the side of a young man, brown hair cropped short. He looked somewhat shy in front of the camera, unlike Aelin who was happily the centre of attention.

Aelin crept up beside him, two mugs in her hand. She handed one to Rowan as she said, “That’s Chaol. My ex.”

He glanced at her face, where he found a mixture of sadness but also intense anger.

“What happened?”

Her eyes were like molten bronze as she placed the mugs on the table and took a deep breath. “We were at a party one night. My friends and I left early, but Chaol and my best friend Nehemia stayed behind. Chaol got bored without me there so he decided to leave without checking that Nehemia got into a cab safely… She was staying with my friend Dorian at the time, and when he called me the next morning saying she hadn’t come home… I asked Choal what had happened after we left and he told me that he had left her there alone. The police called later that day and told us that her body had been found in Oakwald forest. A gang of boys from the party had dragged her there and…” Aelin’s eyes were filled with tears.

“I tried to kill him, Rowan. When I found out what had happened, I went straight to his house and tried to kill him. If Dorian hadn’t pulled me off him, Choal would be dead.”

Her tears were spilling down her cheeks now, and Rowan pulled her shaking body into a tight embrace. They stood there for a few moments, and Rowan rested his lips on the top of her head. He sometimes forgot that underneath the fiery facade was still just a young girl that had faced too many hardships for someone her age. This… this only added to that list. Minutes passed and eventually Aelin pulled back to look at him with those eyes – softened now to their normal colour. Those eyes still stunned him, so vibrant and striking.

“Rowan…” she whispered, voice thick from crying, “I don’t want to leave you here.”

He closed his eyes. “I don’t want to leave you either, Aelin.”

She sniffled and he looked at her again. A part of him felt the need to protect her. It was the same part that had fought with her against those men in the alley, and the same part that made him sleep on her couch each night. It was the same part that had him reaching across to sweep a strand of hair behind her ear. Aelin froze for a second before she leaned into his hand and he cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb across her temple. Tea completely forgotten, Rowan tilted her head up as his gaze was caught in a constant flicker between those striking eyes and her sensual lips. He dragged his hand down her cheek and brought his thumb to caress her bottom lip. Her eyes were hooded with want as she looked up at him from beneath her long lashes. He brought his hand down to rest at the dip in her shoulder and before he could react, Aelin slid her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. Rowan stood frozen in place for a moment before he leaned into the kiss and slid an arm around her waist. Gods…. that kiss sent sparks through him, into the deepest parts of him. He pulled her into him with a growl, and she just took his bottom lip between her teeth in response.

They were pressed close enough now that he could feel every dip and curve of her body against his own, and Rowan had to fight back a groan. Aelin pulled away, breathless.

“Tired already?” he smirked at her, while trying his best to slow his own breathing. Aelin just grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall of her apartment.

“I do need to breathe, you know.” She said, glancing over her shoulder at him and raising an eyebrow. Rowan chuckled, and was dragged through a door into…. her bedroom. Despite the fact that Aelin was already moving to sit on the edge of her bed, Rowan couldn’t help be taken aback by the space. The wall behind her bed had been built into a gigantic bookshelf. So tall that a sliding ladder had been installed just to reach the books at the top. Aelin noticed his glance, and said “It’s the reason why I bought this apartment.” He nodded, still in awe. Rowan had known she loved reading, but this was crazy. When he glanced back at Aelin on the bed, however, all thoughts flew from his mind. She was still wearing the same clothes from the club – a loose, grey sweater that dipped low in the front, paired with incredibly tight blue jeans and a set of tall red heels. It was one of the simpler outfits he had seen her wear, but he was completely captivated by her. She glowed despite the dim lights in her room.

She smirked. “Its good to know that you still find me more attractive than the books.”

He breathed a laugh as he stalked over to her, unhurried. He leaned down until they were face-to-face and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips, which she gladly returned. Aelin slowly fell back on the fur throw at the end of her bed, pulling Rowan with her. Bodies once again pressed together, he rested one arm beside her head and let the other stroke the side of her neck. Aelin deepened their kiss, skimming her tongue on his bottom lip. So true of her to take the lead, he thought to himself, as he obliged her and opened his mouth. She dipped her tongue inside his lips, teasing him. He growled and let his own tongue slide against hers, earning a moan from Aelin. They continued their kisses, hands roaming whatever skin they could find despite their clothing. Rowan’s breath caught in his throat as Aelin brought his hand down to rest on her breast. He gently kneaded her through her sweater and her back arched off the bed. Rowan broke their kiss to watch her, and he felt one of her legs slide up the side of his own.

“More.” She whispered into his ear. Rowan dipped his head to her jaw and began a trail of kisses leading down to the tops of her breasts, partially exposed thanks to her low-cut top. Her fingers twisted in his hair as he slid a hand down to her waist and underneath the grey sweater. His fingertips inched back up until they reached the edge of her bra, the lace scratching against his palm. He found her nipple, peaked with excitement, and rolled it through the lace. Aelin gasped as her back arched again and he attacked her neck with kisses and bites.

“More… Rowan, more.” She said, breathless. She ground her hips up into his and they both growled, his hardened length twitching.

“So demanding.” He said before he pressed his lips to hers and lifted her into a sitting position. She reached down and lifted her shirt over her head, revealing her white lace bra. Rowan’s mouth went dry at the sight of her, tanned skin such a contrast to white lace. He would have stood there forever had she not let her fingers wander underneath his shirt, roaming across his sculpted abdomen. Rowan whipped his own shirt off and threw it somewhere behind them. Aelin’s shirt soon joined his and he was on her again, kisses near frantic as he pressed his lips against every inch of her bare skin. He felt her reach around and unclasp her bra, and he looked just in time to see the material come free from around her breasts, revealing her pert nipples. He pushed her back down against the bed and brought his mouth around one of her breasts, brushing his tongue against the puckered flesh. With his other hand he massaged her exposed breast, and Aelin moaned loudly. He stayed at her breasts for some time, switching between the two of them until Aelin was panting beneath him. She started squirming beneath him, so he continued down her body, plastering kisses as he went. Rowan slid off the edge of the bed and sank to his knees before her, and Aelin pushed herself up on her elbows to watch him. He ran a hand leisurely down her calf, planting kisses down her shin until he reached her heeled foot. With surprising tenderness, he un-buckled the straps and slid it off her foot. He kissed her knee before moving to the other leg. Once both of her scarlet heels had been placed beside the bed, he ran his hands up her thighs to the buttons of her jeans. Aelin tipped her head back as he undid her zipper, and lifted her hips off the bed while he slid her jeans off, taking her panties with him. The scent of her hit him and he became acutely aware of the pressure he felt in his own jeans. This girl was going to be the death of him. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and roughly pulled her to the edge of the bed, Aelin giving a squeak of surprise. Nevertheless she swung a leg over his back, heel digging into his shoulder. Rowan rubbed his cheek against the inside of her thigh before he planted a series of kissed against the skin, each inching closer to the heat radiating from between her legs. He gave a gentle nip to the edge of her hip, making her whine, and slid his hand up her opposite thigh.

“Don’t tease me, you buzzard.” She groaned.

He smiled into her thigh. “Always so needy.” He said, voice rough with desire.

He brought his hand between her thighs, tracing the edge of her already- slick folds. He parted them with his fingers, exposing her to the warmth of his breath and he heard Aelin pant. She kicked her heel into his shoulder, a silent demand to get on with it. He chuckled, and delved into her, wrapping his lips around that one spot. Aelin arched off the bed, moaning, and had her hands pulling at his hair in an instant.

“Rowan… ah … please.” She moaned.

He continued to lap at her folds, making her squirm beneath him. Her taste was intoxicating, the sweet musk of it drawing him in.

“More, more, more.” He heard her pant from above him. He pushed a long finger into her heat; at the same time he planted a kiss on her clit. She cried out his name, inner muscles clenching around his finger. He still slid it out easily, and she growled at the loss of contact. So Rowan merely added another finger, working his tongue in time with the pumping of his hand. Her moans grew louder as he went, and Rowan caught sight of her tweaking her breasts in her hands. The sight had him grinding his length against the edge of her bed.

“Ah! R-Rowan… fuck… I’m so close!” she cried, her hips gyrating against him.

He built her up and up, a third finger now joining the other two. Ever so softly, he grazed his teeth over her clit and she screamed. Her legs shaking around him as the weight of her release shook through her entire body. He kept working her, letting her ride out her orgasm, her juices leaking out over his fingers. She lay there for a moment, just breathing as Rowan got up off his knees and crawled back over her.

She started, grabbing his fingers and bringing them to her mouth. His cock twitched in his pants as he watched Aelin suck her juices off his fingers, lips wrapping seductively around his digits while she looked at him with those eyes. Knowing full-well the effect she was having on him, she opened her mouth and swirled her tongue over the tip of his finger.

“Fuck.” He ground out as his hips bucked against her abdomen. She smirked, releasing his finger from her mouth with a soft ‘pop’.

Before he could fully register what was happening, Aelin flipped him onto his back and straddled his hips. She smirked down at him, and just to see what he would do she slowly ground her hips against the sizeable bulge in his jeans. His hands were instantly at her hips, guiding her as she bucked against him. She leaned down and kissed him, their tongues sliding against each other, her taste still on his lips. Before he could enjoy it too much, she pushed herself off of him and off the edge of the bed. She reached down and yanked his boots off, as well as his socks. Pulling him up to a standing position, Rowan growled as he realised what was about to happen. Balancing on the balls of her feet, she leaned up and gave Rowan another heated kiss, the feeling of her bare breasts against his chest was enough to make her moan against him. Her hands trailed from his neck, along the design of his tattoo on his pectorals and down to his belt. She quickly began to unbuckle it, sliding the belt out and throwing it across the room.

She gave Rowan a simmering smile as she unbuttoned his jeans, and began to unzip them at an agonizingly slow pace. Smoothly, she crouched to the ground, pulling his jeans with her. He stepped out of them and Aelin came face to face with his impressive bulge, tenting his black underwear. She felt herself become even slicker with desire, and she sank to her knees before him, letting her hands wander up his thighs and to the band of his underwear. Ever so slowly, she pulled them down and his cock sprang free. Aelin’s mouth went dry as she took in his considerable length. She looked up at him and met his pine-green eyes, laced with want. She pulled his underwear the rest of the way down his legs, and immediately took his cock in her hand. She began to stroke it, marvelling at how he felt in her hand. He was so big that Aelin wandered what it would feel like for him to be inside her, and she slid her hand between her legs to ease some of that aching desire. Watching her pleasure herself, Rowan groaned and bucked his hips into her hand.

Aelin grinned. “So eager.” she teased.

Looking him in the eye, she brought her mouth to the tip of his throbbing cock and lapped up the salty liquid that was already dripping from him.

“Fuck, Aelin.” He groaned.

She looked up at him as she said, “I wish you would.”

He didn’t have time to reply as she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock and deliberately eased herself down every inch of him. Rowan let out a string of curses as he hit the back of her throat and she moaned around him. The vibrations had him threading his hands through her hair. She let him sit in the back of her throat for a few moments before she quickly pulled back and letting him pop free. Feeling him watching her, she gave a long lick from the base of his shaft to the tip, but before she could wrap her lips around him again he hoisted her up with his strong arms. Face to face once again, he leaned into her neck.

“Aelin, I need you now…” he growled in her ear. “Please.”

Her knees went weak from the plea beneath his voice. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“So demanding.” She whispered in his ear, repeating the same phrase he had teased her with.

He snarled and she pushed him back on the bed. He shifted further back to allow her some room and she straddled his hips once again. She dragged her dripping folds over his cock, and couldn’t contain the loud moan that escaped her. She made to make the movement again, but the feeling of Rowan’s hands on her hips stopped her gyrations.

“Don’t tease me, Aelin.” He growled.

If she hadn’t been burning with the same desire he was, she might have kept going. But the insistent ache between her legs had her shifting onto the balls of her feet and gripping his long shaft in line with her folds.

Ever so slowly, she sank down on his delicious cock. Each inch that filled her made her moan louder, pant harder. The feeling of him stretching her walls was unlike anything she had felt before. He was tensed underneath her, wanting to move but obviously waiting for her to adjust to his gigantic length. When she was ready, Aelin started bouncing up and down on his cock, the motion reverberating through her entire body.

“Fuck. Fuck, Rowan. Oh Gods.” She moaned and he growled underneath her. He lifted his hands to her breasts and massaged them, rolling her nipples between his fingers. She cried out, and began thrusting her hips against his. He felt so huge inside of her that Aelin was barely capable of thought. All she knew was that she needed more. More of him. She must have said as much because Rowan flipped them over, cock still buried inside of her, threw a leg over his shoulder and began thrusting. He filled so much of her at this angle, and his cock repeatedly hit against that one spot that had her clawing at his arms for something to hold.

“Aelin…. fuck.” He groaned, hips slamming into her.

She felt that wave of release rising with his words, the sounds of their bodies smacking together only increasing her pleasure. She couldn’t do anything except moan. Gods, she felt like she was on fire, the two of them locked in a sweaty and pulsating heat.

She reached a hand down, and began toying with herself as Rowan’s hips slanted against her. Rowan watched, then reached down and grabbed one of her breasts, the action sending her spiralling for release.

“Rowan! K-keep going!!” she panted.

He sped up, and her nails dug further into the muscle of his arms. She watched as beads of sweat rolled down his temple and chest, his face twisted into a concentrated frown. His eyes met hers and, still slamming into her, he dipped his face to hers and took her bottom lip between his teeth. She was so close… so close to release. She moaned against him, each slam of his hips making her voice higher, and bringing that wave of pleasure even closer.

“Fuck! I- I’m so close… Rowan!” she near-screamed.

He dipped even lower and took a nipple between his teeth. Nipping and sucking at it. The wave of pleasure crashed and Aelin cried out his name, back arching off the bed.

He released both of her breasts and concentrated on riding out her orgasm. He was panting hard, and Aelin clawed her nails down his chest as he continued to slam his cock into her. He watched her breasts bounce in time to his actions, and Aelin took her hand and teased her nipples. He growled, the noise more animalistic than man.

She moaned his name again, and it was enough to make him pull out of her just in time to spill himself onto her abdomen. He worked his hand quickly up and down his shaft, forcing the last of his cum rolling down the length his cock. 

They both sat there, panting heavily for a few moments. Aelin leaned up and pushed her lips against his. This time their kiss was soft, unhurried. She smiled against his mouth, “Buzzard.”

“Brat.” He chuckled.

They kissed again until Aelin nudged him off her.

“I’m going to have a shower. You can stay here and revel in a post-orgasmic haze, or you can join me.” She said with a wink and she made her way to the adjoining bathroom.

Rowan took one look at her backside as she walked away and stumbled after her.

* * *

They continued like that, finding themselves tangled up in different parts of her apartment for the entire night. They would have kept going had Aelin not complained about feeling hungry. ‘For food’ she had stressed when he gave her a smirk. Neither of them having the energy to make anything, they decided on a small restaurant down the block. It took all of his concentration to not whisk her away to a storeroom somewhere and take her against the shelves. She was driving him insane and she knew it. She kept on “accidentally” brushing her leg against his thigh from across the table, or seductively leaning over so he had a good view of her cleavage. She would be the death of him.

They were walking back to her apartment now, after Aelin had forced them to an ice-cream shop. Rowan tried his best not to watch her, he really did, but Aelin had without a doubt chosen ice cream for a reason. She licked the melting cone, lapping some of the scoop between her lips. A small drip of chocolate landed on her thumb, so she brought it to her mouth and sucked hard, bringing those eyes to stare at his face.

“Something the matter?” she asked, too innocently.

Before she had time to blink, Rowan had backed her against the side of her apartment building and was trailing his lips down her neck. She moaned against him, running her free hand through his hair. He pulled away and smirked.

“If I don’t have you inside me in the next 3 minutes, I might actually combust.” Aelin said as she ground her hips against his.

“We’d better get back to your apartment then.” He nipped her ear before pushing off her.

“I’ll race you up the stairs.” She grinned, before taking off in a sprint through the front door of the apartment building. He ran after her, eyes on her backside as she took the stairs two at a time. But when she reached her floor, she halted and froze. Rowan knew something was wrong.

He glanced around and saw that her apartment door had been wedged open. It hadn’t been like that when he left – he should know, he’d locket it behind them. Aelin turned to look at him, and he nodded. They slowly crept up the rest of the stairs and edged toward the door. Without warning Aelin ripped open the door, eyes blazing and ready for a fight. But she stilled when she saw who had broken in. Rowan quickly moved behind her and to his shock, he saw Aedion, Lysandra, Dorian and Manon lounged on her sofa watching TV.

Aelin gaped.

“What the fuck.”


	7. Chapter 7

“What the fuck.” Aelin said from the doorway.

Her friends whipped their heads around at the sound of her voice, and smiles broke out on their faces (except for Manon, but that wasn’t unusual). Aedion and Lysandra were instantly up on their feet, and Aelin felt her own legs start into motion as she ran to her friends.

Lysandra met her first, elbowing Aedion out of the way, and wrapped her arms around her friend. The two women squeezed each other tightly, Lysandra planting a kiss on her cheek.

“I missed you so much.” She breathed into Aelin’s ear.

“Lys, it’s only been a month.”

Her friend pulled back.

“Am I not allowed to miss you?” She purred, “Life was so boring without you around.”

Aedion came up behind them then and gently nudged the beauty out of the way before smirking at his cousin. It had been so long since she had seen Aedion. He was working for the military and Aelin rarely got to see him, even on his holidays. Usually it was because Arobynn would send her out of Rifthold to fight in other cities, and she wouldn’t find out that Aedion had been there until she came back. Just another thing Aelin would get payback for once she returned home.  
Aelin wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed, feeling his huge arms encase her shoulders. Words weren’t necessary between the two of them… they had always been one in the same, two sides of the same coin. Later, when they were alone, she would stay up and talk to him about his adventures, but now wasn’t the time.

“Thanks for breaking in, assholes.” She mumbled into his chest, eyes welling. Her cousin laughed and squeezed her tighter.

“I did text you about it.” He said as he pinched her.

“I got a new phone when I arrived, stupid.”

She looked up and caught his classic grin, one she had seen in the mirror so many times since they had been separated as children. She shot one back, but reluctantly let go of her cousin and walked over to Dorian and Manon, both still lounged on her sofa. Dorian gave her a lazy smile as she leaned over him and planted a friendly kiss on his head, and then nodded to Manon who returned the gesture. 

She heard the front door click shut, and immediately remembered Rowan, the ice cream still in his hand. She rushed over to pull him to the group.

“Sorry. Guys this is Rowan. Rowan, this is Aedion, Lysandra, Dorian and Manon.” She said, gesturing to them. Rowan nodded in greeting.

Aedion crossed his arms and glared at Rowan, who merely gave her cousin a once-over and moved to the kitchen. No doubt to get rid of the melting dessert. Her cousin watched him go before turning to meet Aelin’s eyes. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged.

For all Aedion knew, they were just friends who had going out for ice cream… which wasn’t far from the truth, she supposed, but…. Aelin decided to think about it later. Much later.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked, glancing between the four of them. They had piled their luggage against one of the walls, enough bags to suggest that they would be staying for a while. They all looked at each other in confusion.

Lysandra stared at her.

“What do you mean?” was all the beauty said, enviable lips pouting as she cocked her head to one side.

Aelin stared back.

“Well I sure as hell didn’t invite you.”

Another look of concern passed between the four of them. Aedion stepped forward.

“What are you talking about, Aelin? We each got a letter from you a few days ago, saying that you missed us and wanted us to visit you in Wendlyn. It was in your handwriting. You gave us your address and everything… even paid for our tickets. ”

Aelin stared back at him. What was going on?

“Shit.” Rowan muttered from the kitchen. His pine-green eyes met hers, and he picked up a small black envelope that had been sitting on the bench top.

“Maeve.” They said in unison.

Aelin moved to him and ripped the envelope open.

**Take the night off. Consider it a gift for doing so well. I hope you enjoy your surprise.**

**-M**

The letter sent chills through her entire body.

“Why on earth would she want them here?” she demanded. It didn’t make any sense for them to come.

Rowan pinched his brow in concentration, sorting through all he knew to find an answer. He sighed, the noise resigned.

“To get you to fold early. She probably thinks that getting them here will force you to miss home and give up, and therefore make you forfeit the bargain.” He looked up and his eyes met her own.

“To make you go home.” he said, but the last words were strained.

Aelin felt her blood boil. Maeve could use and abuse her all she liked, but to bring her friends into the equation… Aelin would never tell them, but she was scared. Terrified even. Her aunt had managed to lure her friends over an ocean to find her, without making them suspect anything was awry. Maeve played dirty, and Aelin didn’t have a doubt in her mind that her she would use her friends against her… would even put them in harms way to make her comply. The thought send a shiver up her spine.

Dorian coughed behind her, and she turned to face him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but who’s Maeve?”

* * *

Crammed on Aelin’s couch with her friends from home was the last place Rowan expected to be. Especially not after how their night had started out… with Aelin moaning his name only hours earlier. He would be lying if he said that it hadn’t left him somewhat… frustrated. He felt Aedion glare at him from across the space. The boy hardly intimidated him, but for Aelin’s sake he wouldn’t provoke him… much.

After an emotional reunion with her friends, Aelin had pulled him to the sofa and sat down to give her friends the low-down on what had been happening in the past few months, while still keeping out some key details, he knew. She was keeping him in the dark. Not because she didn’t trust him, but because she knew what Maeve was like. Knew what lengths her aunt would go to in order to get the answers she wanted. But it still irked some part of him to know that she wasn’t telling him everything. It stung. But he had no right to the information anyway, regardless of this… thing between them.

“So what do we do now?” Lysandra asked from Aelin’s side.

Aelin looked at the ground, contemplative. Either she wasn’t sure what to do yet, or she wouldn’t spill her plans with him around. Perhaps both.

“I need to work it out.” She mumbled.

When she looked back up, she glanced around at all of them.

As if remembering the facade she had to keep up, a mischievous grin broke out across her face.

“But in the meantime… Let’s go clubbing.”

* * *

For the life of him, Rowan expected to end up back in Doranelle. Perhaps watching Aelin and her friends snoop around, or maybe just observe them as they danced. However, after cramming into a cab, they ended up on the other side of the city. Eveyone had questioned Aelin about her desire to dance the night away, but she had been adamant that they go and relax. Despite living in Wendlyn all his life, Rowan had never been to this club. Mainly because there had never been a need to go… or a desire. But as the cab pulled up, he was pleasantly surprised at the establishment. ‘Mistward’ was illuminated in big neon letters on the front face of the brick building. It didn’t have the chic, furnished exterior that Maeve prided herself on; instead the brick walls of the building were covered in graffiti and old band posters. It was far from sophisticated, but it had character. Where Doranelle mainly served stuck-up rich kids, Mistward was full to the brim of people from all walks of life. Businessmen mingled with kids in leather jackets, and clusters of all races strolled into the building. Each face he saw was unique, happy.

“I’ve heard there is a beer garden up top.” Aelin said as she shuffled out of the cab. “Just in case we get sick of dancing.”

Lysandra crawled out after her, winking.

“Unlikely.”

* * *

Aelin had known it was the right choice the second she walked in. Mistward was thrumming with energy and people were everywhere, filling the space. It was illuminated with a deep red light, and someone had employed street artists to decorate the interior. Aelin loved it. In the corner was a DJ mixing old 90’s tracks together, rather successfully.

Spotting a booth off to the side, the group quickly claimed it as their own. Rowan and Manon were the first to plunk themselves onto the worn leather. Aelin was fairly certain that they would both try to stay there all night, no matter how hard the rest of them would try to lure them to the dance floor. Aelin took it as a personal challenge.

Aedion slipped off to the bar, and Dorian pulled Lysandra and Aelin out to the edge of the dance floor. She could feel Rowan’s eyes on her the entire time. Though he would never tell her, she knew he was frustrated that their night had been cut short… if only because there was a part of her that felt the same way. She was ecstatic that her friends were here, but there was still a hunger that gnawed on the pit of her stomach every time she looked at him - one that she tried her best to ignore.

“So what’s happening between the two of you?” Lysandra shouted in her ear, trying her best to be heard over the loud music.

Aelin looked at her friend and shrugged, “I wish I knew.”

* * *

Aedion came back with the drinks, but didn’t stay for long when he realised that his only two options for conversation were Rowan and Manon. Instead, Rowan watched him make his way to a group of people playing poker at a table to the side. The two of them watched him go, before turning their attention to their friends in front of them. They were jumping to the beat of a song, caught up with the energy in the crowd. Rowan’s eyes were instantly on Aelin’s face. She practically glowed with the joy of being with her friends, being free for a while. It sparked something guttural in him when he realised that he hadn’t been able to bring that sort of joy to her. Not even for a few moments.

The song changed, and the crowd started to grind as the tempo slowed. Rowan couldn’t help himself as he cast an appreciative eye over Aelin, watching as she and Lysandra began to sway against one another. She had changed clothes before they left, slipping into a long-sleeved, sky-blue shirt that cropped just below her breasts. She had shimmied her way into a pair of high-waisted shorts that were quickly becoming his favourite item to see her in. Her long legs were exposed, and Rowan’s eyes followed the lean muscles down to her feet, which were strapped into a set of white heels.

“Stop drooling.” The white-haired woman said from beside him, and he growled.

* * *

“Aelin, he’s been staring at you for the past twenty minutes!” The dark beauty shouted in her ear.

Aelin tossed her hair over her shoulder, glancing at their booth as she did. Indeed, Rowan was staring at her with such intensity that she felt her core turn molten. Beside him were Manon and now Dorian (who apparently couldn’t control himself when it came to the fierce woman), both looking like they wanted to eat each other alive. It sent a spike of jealousy through her.

Aelin looked back to her friend, who’s dark hair had been piled upon her head to combat the heat of the club. All night men and women had been trying to grind their way between the two of them, but a flash of Lysandra’s teeth had them backing away. She was drop-dead beautiful, even in a causal yellow crop-top and denim jeans. 

“Yeah, well Aedion has been staring at you from across the room all night.” She shouted back.

Lysandra blushed and Aelin grinned. She had known there was something going on between the two of them the moment she saw them, but she doubted it was serious at this point. Knowing her cousin he probably hadn’t even kissed her yet – for all his swaggering and womanizing, he was truly a romantic at heart and wouldn’t do anything to hurt Lysandra.

She would tease her friend more another time, but right now Aelin just wanted to dance. It had been so long since she had just been able to have fun with her friends… and she really missed it.

Aelin twirled and twisted against Lysandra, who shimmied her hips in a way that had people stopping to watch them. Lysandra caught her eye and winked, deciding to give them a show, and pulled Aelin close. Wrapping her arms around the beauty’s neck, Aelin and Lysandra swirled their hips against each other, in time to the music.

Lysandra was still working for one of the “high-end” strip clubs in Rifthold. Aelin knew she hated it, but her friend had signed a contract with the owner when she was barely a pre-teen, just to get herself off the streets. Although she had been stripping since the moment she turned 18, Aelin knew that she had been forced to pleasure customers behind closed-doors for much, much longer. Yet Lysandra had never let it dull her spirit. And despite how much she despised it, she never let her customers see it. Lysandra had always been a great actress, and knew how to breeze her way through difficult situations because of it. A skill that Aelin envied.

Aelin slid against her, their breasts bumping each other as they danced. A long time ago, Aelin might have questioned dancing like this with her, for the sake of her friend. But she had quickly learned that the dark haired beauty was in as much need for freedom as she was. Somehow dancing with who she wanted, when she wanted, gave her a sense of control over her life. If it made her friend happy, Aelin was happy to oblige.

Aelin slinked to the floor, balancing on her heels, hands skimming down the sides of Lysandra’s legs. No doubt Aedion was somewhere watching them cringing internally, knowing full well that anything he was seeing of Lysandra now would be spoiled by the fact that she was grinding against his younger cousin.

As Aelin slid back up Lysandra’s body, her phone vibrated inside her back pocket. Aelin reached for it and read the message.

**From: Buzzard**

**As if keeping my hands off you wasn’t hard enough…**

Aelin turned to look at the booth, where Rowan was still watching her. She felt Lysandra read the text over her shoulder. He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. He simply raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say Are you going to reply or not?

Aelin grinned and started typing.

**To: Buzzard**

**Come over here and you can put you hands wherever you want.**

She watched as his phone lit up and he looked down at it, reading. His head snapped back up to look at her, eyes wild. She gave him a wink and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she turned away, pocketing her phone. Making sure Rowan had a clear view of her backside, she leaned forward, dipping her chest. She felt her shorts ride up and then slowly slipped back into a standing position. 

“You’re evil.” Lysandra grinned as she gripped Aelin’s waist.

“If he wants it, he can come and get it.”

“I think he is.” The beauty grinned as she peered over Aelin’s shoulder.

A few seconds later, strong hands covered her shoulders, and Rowan leaned into Aelin’s neck.

“You’re driving me mad.” He growled.

Lysandra smirked, letting go of Aelin.

“I’m going to find Aedion. Hopefully he hasn’t lost too much money.”

Aelin hardly noticed her leave as Rowan began pressing kisses into her neck, not caring who saw. It took all of her concentration not to moan when his teeth grazed her skin. She reached behind her to grip his thigh with her nails, feeling his muscles tense underneath his jeans. He moved his kissed up her neck to her ear and bit on her lobe. Unable to stop herself, Aelin pushed her backside against his hips and nearly gasped as his impressive length ground back.

Rowan spun her to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he gripped her waist. Aelin pulled his lips to hers and groaned as his tongue slipped inside her mouth, making lazy strokes. They stood there for a few minutes, his hands sliding to her backside as they kissed. When Aelin eventually pulled away, breathing heavily, Rowan smirked at her as he said,

“I believe I was told I could put my hands wherever I wanted?”

Aelin’s knees nearly buckled as his eyes flicked to her mouth, desire obvious in his expression. She wanted him. Now.

Frantically looking around the club for anywhere that was private, Aelin spotted a bar tender walk into a door to the back of the building. If it was anything like Doranelle it probably led to a staff hallway and, fingers crossed, a storage room.

“Come with me.”

* * *

Aelin was on her knees in front of him the moment they entered the tiny storage space. He barely had enough time to close the door shut before she started fumbling with his belt. She had it unbuckled and his jeans unzipped within record time, pulling his pants down just far enough for his cock to spring free.

She looked up at him with those beautiful eyes, and Rowan had to bite back a groan when she wrapped a hand around his shaft. Slowly, she started running her hand back and forth along his length. She leisurely swiped her thumb across his head, spreading the liquid that had already begun to seep out of him. Rowan, unable to stop himself, bucked his hips into her hand and Aelin gave a small laugh, gripping him harder and moving her hand faster along his solid cock.

“Moan for me, Rowan.” She whispered up at him, one had on his thigh, the other stroking him.

“Someone will hear.” He grunted out at her.

She twisted her hand as she pulled against him, and Rowan snapped his neck up to face the ceiling of the tiny room and gritted his teeth. He tried his best to control his breathing, but she slowed her hand down again and the change in pace forced his hands into fists at his side. She was going to be the death of him.

“Rowan, look at me.” she mumbled from below him. He glanced back down and (almost) regretted it as he watched her slide her lips over the head of his cock. His hands were instantly in her hair, gripping her golden waves. She licked a circle around the opening of his tip and moaned as her lips gradually ‘popped’ off him.

“You taste so good.” She whispered, tugging at his shaft again.

Her words alone almost undid him.

“Aelin…” was all he managed to ground out before her mouth was on him again, tongue swirling over his broad head. A piece of her hair slithered forward and he brushed his back, holding it all away from her face. She looked up at him and moaned her thanks against him before sliding further and further down the length of him. She was nearly half way down his cock when he hit the back of her throat, but Aelin continued taking him in. When she got down as far as she could go, she held it for a few seconds before swiftly bringing her lips back up the length of him, swiping her tongue over his head once again. Rowan moaned loudly, feeling himself begin to coil in the pit of his stomach. Aelin smiled at the noise, a genuine smile and Rowan couldn’t stop the feeling of pride he felt at knowing he had been the cause of it. He leaned down, lifting her chin up with his fingers so that he could press another kiss to her lips. When he eased back up, Aelin had a faint blush plastered across her cheeks and her eyes were glazed. She blinked as she looked at him and then grinned. He smiled back at her, the biggest he had ever given the woman. She pressed a kiss his tip again and Rowan didn’t bother to hide his moan this time. He didn’t care if anyone heard them. Not when it made Aelin smile.

Her hand began pumping him while she sucked on the head of his cock. He groaned, hips thrusting forward by their own accord. She was too good at this. Rowan knew he wouldn’t last much longer if she continued swirling that tongue over him. She twisted her hand and tugged hard, a string of curses flew from his mouth. Her other hand kneaded his thigh, then began digging her nails into his leg. Aelin released him from her sweet mouth, only to dip her head low and give him a long, slow lick from base to tip. He gripped her hair tighter.

“Fuck. Aelin, I- Fuck.” He said as she slid his length into her mouth once again.

She moaned, eyes narrowing in pleasure. The sight undid him.

He quickly pulled out of her mouth, stroking his own hand up and down his cock, not wanting her to be surprised if he found release in her mouth. Seeing what he was doing, Aelin batted his hand away and replaced it with her own.

“I want to taste you.” Was all she said as she placed her lips around his head a final time. Her words sent him over the edge and he spilled into her mouth. Rowan watched Aelin swallow him all, even stroking his cock to pull every last drop from him. Rowan leaned against the wall behind him, utterly spent, and Aelin let him go with a final lick.

“My knees hurt.” She mumbled and lifted her arms up to him. He leaned down and pulled her up, bringing his mouth to her ear.

“My turn.”

* * *

Aelin was still drunk on the taste of him, a muskiness that was so purely male it made her knees weak. It hadn’t been long before he was hard against her once more, and Aelin knew that she had no doubt soaked through her underwear. The ache between her legs only deepened when Rowan backed her against one of the walls and attacked her neck with kisses and bites. His calloused hands slid down her sides and to the front of her shorts, quickly unbuttoning them. Then, painfully slow, he dipped one hand into her shorts, and brought his other hand to pin her arms above her head. His fingers grazed against the lace of her underwear, thin enough that she could feel everything.

Aelin slid down the wall slightly, trying to gain any sort of friction between the burning desire between her legs and Rowans fingers, but his other hand caught her and held her in place. She whined, hips shifting against him. He silenced her with a rough kiss, his tongue sweeping out to caress her lips at the same moment he scratched a fingernail against her.

Aelin gasped against his mouth, struggling against the hold he had on her arms.

“More.” She whispered.

Rowan obliged, pulling her panties to the side with a finger before delving into her soaking heat. She groaned. He pumped his finger in and out of her and the noises that came from the action told her enough about how wet she was.

Rowan released her lips, and rained kisses down her neck. He added a third finger, pumping faster inside of her. Aelin moaned loud, despite her best efforts to be quiet. She knew she was close.

“Rowan, I – I want to touch you. Need to touch you.” She whimpered.

He paused for a few seconds before reluctantly releasing her hands and she had them in his hair moments later, bringing his face toward hers in another heated kiss. His fingers kept sliding into her at an antagonizing pace, and Aelin ground down against him. She felt his free hand slide up her waist until his thumb brushed against the heavy underside of her breast.

“Yes!” she moaned against him. She needed more.

His fingers slid under her sky-blue shirt and into her bra to cup her breast.

Aelin was whining against him, eyes screwed tight against the overwhelming sensations. But when Rowan dipped his head low and took her nipple in his mouth, Aelin couldn’t stop the scream that erupted from her.

Rowan’s mouth was instantly on hers to silence her cry. When her moans had quietened once again, he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Someone would have heard that, Aelin. You had better cum for me soon or they’ll find us here, fucking in a storage closet. I bet you would like that. If we were found, my fingers buried inside of your tight, wet pussy. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Aelin was shaking against him, his words bringing her closer and closer to the edge. She pushed her breasts into him, a silent request. He grinned and dipped his head low once again to graze his teeth over her pert nipple.

“Yes! Fuck! Yes… S-So close.” She shook against him, and his fingers arched inside of her, scraping against her inner walls. The motion undid her.

“YES! ROWAN! Yes, Yes, Yes!” She screamed against him, juiced dripping out of her.

Rowan lifted his head to give her one last lazy kiss, slowly easing his hand out of her shorts. He zipped them back up and buttoned them closed with a tenderness that gave Aelin butterflies. She deepened the kiss, not wanting to end this just yet. Rowan’s hands lifted to her breasts, giving them a gentle knead before pulling her shirt down over her bra. Finally his hands found her face and neck, where he caressed small circles into her skin. But eventually he pulled back from the kiss.

Aelin sighed through her nose.

“We have to go back out now. They’ll wonder where we are.” She huffed.

“Aelin why are you doing this? Why are we even here?”  
“If Maeve is going to try and ruin things, I may as well enjoy one night with the people I care about.” She said, looking down.

The words hung in the air. Aelin watched as Rowan scanned his eyes over her.

“Do you… care about me?” he asked slowly.

Yes. Definately. Maybe.

She was about to reply when footsteps sounded from outside the hall. Rowan pulled the door open and pushed Aelin out, closing the door behind them after he slipped back into the hallway. Together they silently ran down the hall, and back into the club. Right into Manon.

“I drew the short straw and they sent me to find you guys. Hurry up, Aedion is pissed you disappeared.”

Aelin blushed. She thought they had been discrete.

* * *

The cab ride home was awkward to say the least. Aelin was sandwiched between Aedion and Rowan. The latter of whom was still sending pangs of lust up her spine every time their legs touched. Aedion, on the other hand, was silently fuming. She doubted it was simply because they had ‘disappeared’ but rather because his little cousin had a sex life. It was hardly his place to be annoyed. Maybe in the past Dorian would have been upset about it, but he had been attached to Manon all night…. so if Dorian didn’t have an issue, then Aedion didn’t get the right to be mad either.

The group of them eventually made it back up to her apartment, where they all clustered around the kitchen bench, Aedion purposefully moving to stand between herself and Rowan.

“I wish Maeve had thought to book us a hotel.” Her cousin grumbled. Everyone nodded their agreement. Aelin’s apartment wasn’t exactly small, but between 6 people, two of whom were unnaturally large men… it would be a very tight squeeze. 

“I would offer my apartment,” Rowan said, “but I doubt it would be safe for any of you if Maeve is watching.”

Aelin nodded. Aedion stiffened beside her.

“You could go home.” He said to Rowan, and Aelin rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be rude, Aedion.” Lysandra hissed as she slapped his arm hard.

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, T-shirt tightening against his chest. Lysandra looked away.

“Stop bickering.” Aelin growled as she rubbed her temples. She loved her friends but she didn’t miss the fighting.

“You’re no better than children.” Manon chipped in.

“Hardly.” Her cousin grumbled.

Needing to get away, she walked to her bedroom.

“Rowan, come with me.” She ordered, and the man instantly followed.

Aedion started.

“Like hell you are! Aelin come back here we need to talk abo-“

Aelin made gave him the finger over her shouler and he growled. Overbearing as always.

She heard him make a step toward her and Rowan, but she knew lysandra caught his arm.

“I want to watch some TV, Aedion,” was all the beauty had to say before her cousin was putty in her hands. She silently thanked her.

* * *

“If you want me to put him in his place, I’m more than happy.” Rowan mumbled when they got to her room.

“Now that is a fight I’d like to watch.” She smiled at him, and he stared. The way he looked at her sent butterflies through her stomach… like she was so captivating he couldn’t think straight. Or maybe she was imagining it. If she wasn’t, it only made what she was about to do so much worse.

“Rowan, you need to go home.”

He blinked at her, but remained silent.

“I can’t have you here anymore.”

His face turned expressionless. Stone-cold like it had been when she first met him.

“This is because I work for her, isn’t it.” He said, too softly.

“Yes. It is.” Was all she could manage.

I want you to stay. I want you to help. She wanted to scream at him how she felt, but even if he felt the same way there was nothing he could do. She wouldn’t risk him for the sake of her plans.

“Fine.”

“We’re getting too… close.” The words killed something inside of her. “Maeve will notice.”

“Fine.” He muttered again. The word so cold it stung.

“I don’t… I don’t think you should watch the apartment at night either. Or walk me home.” Lest she be tempted to bring him inside and… do something stupid.

“Fine.”

“Stop saying fine.” She growled.

Perhaps it was the wrong thing to say, because now all that met her was silence.

“You should go home.” She whispered, eyes downcast so she wouldn’t have to look at his expressionless mask.

He breathed in for a moment and then shoved his hands in his pockets, retreating back a few steps.

“Just… stay safe, Aelin.” He murmured, a sliver of emotion shining through his icy facade. Then he turned on his heel and left her room, shutting the door behind him so softly that it broke her heart. A sob escaped her.

She knew she had hurt him. Had hurt a part of him that was locked so deep within himself that no one ever saw it… but he had let her in and she had still cut him deep.

But she didn’t regret it. Not if it kept him safe. Even if he hated her for the rest of his life, it would still be worth it. She just prayed she hadn’t hurt him so much that he would never let anybody in again. 

Aelin crept into her bathroom and turned on the shower. Stripping down she stepped into the stream of water and sank to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Doranelle was once again packed so heavily that there was barely space to move around. Aelin had been to concerts and music festivals that were less packed than this. It was a compliment, she supposed, that people were coming from all over Wendlyn to hear her perform. But Aelin couldn’t find it within herself to care. She mixed two tracks, bleeding them into one another and the crowd pulsed like a living beast. Some people jumped up and down in time with the beat, others swayed against each other like a current in the ocean.

Aelin had just three days left of her contract to her Aunt. Just three, and then she was free to go with the information she needed from Maeve. Then she would be on a plane back to Rifthold with her friends, away from this place, and these people. Away from Rowan.

She hadn’t spoken to him since that night in her apartment. He had been working at the bar with machine-like efficiency, not bothering to look at her, even once. It was for the best, she knew, but it still hurt. He had taken a risk letting her in, and she just threw that in his face. But it was better to have him hate her and be safe, then for Maeve to suspect and hurt him. Even if it hurt Aelin more than she ever thought it would.

* * *

‘Dont look at her. She doesn’t like you. She is leaving you.’ Were the words that had been replaying in Rowan’s mind since he last spoke to Aelin. Every time she was near, he started his mantra. It was what he had reminded himself when Lorcan started walking her home, watching her apartment at night. When the dark-haired man had asked him why Rowan suddenly couldn’t do the task Maeve had assigned to him, something had twisted in Rowan’s gut when he said that Aelin was simply a brat and he was fed up with dealing with her. Because after getting to know her, Rowan knew that was so far from the truth.

But here they were, Rowan doing everything he could to resist the urge to simply look at her, lest he run to the woman and tell her how he felt. Tell her that he wanted to be apart of her plans, apart of her life, regardless of the consequences.

But Aelin didn’t trust him enough.

So Rowan kept his head down.

* * *

When Aelin finally crawled up the stairs to her apartment that night, the door opened before she even had time to get her key out of her bag. Lysandra stood before her in nothing but a short bathrobe. One of Aelin’s favourites, it appeared.

“Stop raiding my closet.” Was all she could muster.

Lysandra gave her a wink.

“But it looks so much better on me.”

Aelin didn’t argue. Everything looked good on Lysandra.

Her friend grabbed her bag and pulled her inside the comfort of her apartment. It was close to 3am, so Aedion was passed out on one end of her couch, Dorian on the other. Both had their mouths open, near-silent snores coming from them. A small smile broke out on Aelin’s face. It had been so long since they had been like this. Like they didn’t have a care in the world.

She followed Lysandra down the hallway, past the spare room where Manon was currently nested, and into Aelin’s bedroom. The two of them had been sharing her bed since they arrived, and it reminded Aelin of the sleepovers she’d never had as a child. Shutting the door behind them Aelin sighed and Lysandra dumped her bag on the floor.

“What’s wrong, Aelin?” The beauty said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Aelin shook her head. If she started talking about it, her emotions would spill out and then she wouldn’t be able to handle what she had to do in the coming days. But Aelin felt sad, drained. Her face must have said as much because Lysandra opened her arms and waited.

Giving a huff, Aelin walked into the hug and rested her head in the crook of Lysandra’s neck, wrapping her own arms around her friend’s waist.

They stayed there for a few minutes, content to let the world pass them by, until Aelin slowly pulled back.

“You tired?” Lysandra asked as she tilted her head.

Aelin nodded.

“Come on, let’s get that makeup off and get you changed.”

So Lysandra pulled her to the adjoining bathroom and sat her on the edge of the bathtub. Aelin could have wept at the tenderness her friend used as she wiped Aelin’s makeup off, soft but precise. The beauty pulled an oversized shirt out of the wardrobe, and helped Aelin put it on.

Aelin’s life had been far from happy. She had faced hardships, loss, poverty and so much death. But as Lysandra plopped into bed beside her, snuggling her body against her own, Aelin couldn’t help but ask herself,

‘When did I get so lucky?’

* * *

When Aelin arrived at Doranelle the next night, she made a beeline for the bar. Luckily the crowds had yet to arrive at the club, so she had Fenrys to herself.

He grinned when he saw her.

“Long time, no see.” He said, winking as she leaned against the counter.

“I’ll assume that you’ve been counting the seconds since we last spoke.” She grinned back at him.

He chuckled and began to muddle some lime in the bottom of a glass.

“Always the charmer.”

Aelin just winked back at him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, before Fenrys opened his mouth to speak, softer than she had ever heard him talk.

“So, tomorrow is your last day, huh?”

Aelin swallowed.

“Yeah. It is.” Was all she could get out. She would miss his sorry ass. Maybe one day she would come back for him. Get him out of this hell-hole.

He was silent for a few more moments, pouring amber liquid into the glass.

“I’m going to miss you, A.”

She gave him a sad smile.

“I’m going to miss you too, Fen.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth, when familiar footsteps sounded as Rowan rounded the corner and entered the bar. Aelin stiffened slightly as their eyes met, but there was nothing in his gaze other than cold disinterest. He turned away from her and began preparing a drink for a customer across the bar. Aelin looked down, and the motion didn’t go unnoticed by Fenrys. He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, forcing her to look at him. He slid a drink across the bar, along with a black napkin.

“I call this the Fenrys Special. Reserved only for my most favourite customers.” He said with a grin, though his eyes looked guarded.

Aelin shot a cocky grin back at him, and grabbed the drink with one hand whilst slipping the napkin into her sleeve with the other.

“I’m honoured and eternally grateful.” She said as jokingly as she could, easing herself off the counter before she made her way backstage.

* * *

‘Don’t look at her. She doesn’t like you. She is leaving you.’

‘Don’t look at her. She doesn’t like you. She is leaving you.’

Rowan repeated over and over as he concentrated solely on ignoring the fiery woman he had grown to care for. Watching her with Fenrys… seeing how carefree she was with him… Rowan had expected it to make his blood boil with jealousy, but when he looked inside, there was only icy sadness.

* * *

It was well past 3am, yet Aelin and her friends were still wide awake, planning for the coming days. They had booked flights and organised transport from the Rifthold airport, among other things. Aelin, Lysandra and Manon were currently huddled on her bed, memorising the data Fenrys had slipped her that night. Wrapped in that black napkin had been a USB filled with the files and codes Aelin had desperately needed. She had taken a risk asking him to do it while she and her friends had been in Mistward, away from Maeve’s prying eyes. It had actually been a blessing that Maeve had let her run free that night. It meant that when her Aunt eventually found out someone had tampered with her files, Aelin and her friends would be out of the firing line. Rowan would be safe.

She had explained all of that to Fenrys, not knowing if he would help her or simply tell Maeve her plans. But her friend had come through, had helped her only if it meant punishment for himself. So Aelin was not lying when she had tol him that she would be forever grateful.

“I’m going to bed.” Grumbled Manon as she pushed herself off the mattress and stalked out the bedroom door, apparently sick of remembering codes. Aelin didn’t blame her, mostly because she felt the same way. Her head was pulsing with the effort of memorising the plans for her last night in Doranelle. So much could go wrong, regardless of her extensive planning.

Defeated, Lysandra threw herself backwards and landed with a thud against the pillows.

“Sleep, Aelin.” She mumbled. “You know every last detail for tomorrow. Today. Whenever it is. Go to bed.”

Aelin sighed as she shut her laptop and slid it to the floor. In a few hours she would have to get ready for her last night in Doranelle. She would have to say goodbye to everything she had grown to care about in these past few weeks. She wouldn’t get to banter with Fenrys anymore, in fact she would probably never even see him again. She would never get another familiar grin from Gavriel, or even a thumbs-up from Luca. She would have to say goodbye to this apartment and all of the furniture and decorations she had grown attached to. But perhaps what she had grown most attached to was the silver-haired man who had eased his way into her heart. Yet what hurt her the most was knowing that she had hurt Rowan so much that when she returned to her life in Rifthold, he would not be in it.

Lysandra’s gentle snoring pulled her from her thoughts. Crawling back up the bed, Aelin was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Fenrys was in the middle of making himself a coffee that morning when a small white envelope slipped under his front door. He looked out the peep-hole, but nobody stood outside. Curious, he ripped open the paper. When he read it he chuckled to himself, laughing darkly at what it implied, before moving to his bathroom and ripping the letter to shreds and flushing the remnants down the toilet. He returned to his coffee, but the words still rung in his mind.

**Take the night off. You deserve it.**

**Forever your friend,**

**-A**

He didn’t know what the girl was up to, or why she had needed the files and codes, but he would follow her advice regardless. He found that he was more than happy to call up Doranelle that morning and admit to symptoms of gastro.

Whatever Aelin had planned, he just hoped that she royally fucked with everything Maeve stood for, and brought the bitch down in the process.

* * *

That night, Aelin brought Lysandra and Manon to Doranelle. Smuggled was probably a better word. Because her Aunt no doubt knew what her friends looked like, Lysandra used the skills she had acquired throughout the years and had turned herself into a blonde-haired bombshell. The beauty had also shoved Manon into a wig of deep red curls that framed her stunning face, and contacts that turned her deep golden eyes to a dull shade of blue. However the brooding woman looked less than enthused about the whole idea.

Easing open the window Aelin had first used to break out of Doranelle undetected, the women now used it to throw their gear inside. Because Doranelle had metal detector at the entrance, this was their only option. Aelin sent a silent prayer up to whatever gods would listen, asking that nobody found their things before they came to retrieve them. Aedion knelt down in the long grass below the opening and helped boost each of the girls up to the window, taking extra care with Lysandra, before laying flat against the dirt to hide. 

Dropping to the floor in the storage room, the girls hid their things as best they could, shoving their bags behind stacks of alcohol and clumps of electrical equiptment. Manon slid over to the door and pressed her ear against the chipped surface. Lysandra was busy rummaging through a bag. If she could have, Aelin would just leave the women in the storage room until the right moment, but unless they came with her they wouldn’t see her signal. Which only made the plan more risky. Aelin refused to let the fear reach her expression.

Manon silently gestured for her to come closer, so Aelin also pressed her ear to the door. Lorcan’s voice rang out as he passed by.

“… is pissed because Fenrys called in sick. Says he has gastro, but knowing him he’s out there fucking as many women as he can find.” He grumbled, footsteps slowly becoming softer.

Good. Fenrys was out of harms way.

The three of them waited a few minutes, letting the footsteps retreat, before climbing the stacked crates and sliding out the window and into Aedion’s waiting arms. It probably wasn’t necessary for him to be there for this part, but Aelin took some sort of sick joy in forcing Lysandra and her cousin together. Besides, high-risk situations only made the heart grow fonder.

Once outside, Lysandra and Manon quickly changed into pairs of strappy heels. They perfectly blended in with the girls who partied at Doranelle, with impossibly short dresses and glitzy jewellery adorning their bodies. No one would look twice at them.

Aelin nodded her approval before leaving them behind the building and rounding the corner to the entrance. She skipped the queue, earning sneers from the growing crowd, and waltzed right into the building.

* * *

Aelin was in the middle of her final set when she noticed Lysandra and Manon finally wander in, both perfectly playing the part of excited new customers. She let them mill about, getting their bearings and letting the information she had fed them click into place. Where the guards were stationed, which doors led to which rooms. Lysandra pushed her way to the front of the bar and ordered them some drinks from Vaughn, who looked bored. Next to him were Gavriel and Lorcan. No Rowan, Aelin thought as she breathed a sigh of relief. If he had seen Lysandra or Manon, there was no telling what he would do. Aelin liked to think that he wouldn’t tell Maeve, but after what she had said to him … she didn’t have to take that risk. 

As Aelin neared the end of her set, Manon nudged Lysandra in the ribs and nodded to a door off to the side of the building. The staff hallways, just as Aelin had said. Lysandra followed her eye and nodded softly, before leaning over the bar and sweetly asking the bartender where the toilets were. He pointed to another door across the room, then swiftly turned to another customer.

The two women walked away from the bar and Lysandra gave her a lazy grin.

“Oh my, I seem to have forgotten which door he pointed to.” She said slyly, before pulling Manon with her until they were stood not ten-feet away from the staff hallways.

Spotting them in position, Aelin picked up the microphone and screamed,

“THANK YOU DORANELLE!”

The crowd went wild as Aelin walked off stage, and in the heart of the commotion Lysandra and Manon slipped inside the staff hallways.

* * *

Aelin moved as fast as she could up the stairs to her Aunt’s office. She had to work quickly so Lysandra and Manon could pull this off. She reached the huge black door at the top of the stairs and pushed it open, not bothering to knock. Schooling her features into an expression of mild annoyance, Aelin tried her best to hide any of the panic she was feeling.

Her aunt was seated at her desk, and by some miracle, was filling in paperwork. Her back was turned to the wall of CCTV screens behind her, and Aelin spotted Lysandra and Manon stealthily moving down a hallway. Her Aunt’s head rose to look at her, and Aelin snapped her eyes back down to Maeve’s face.

“My darling Niece. What can I do for you?” she purred, setting down her pen.

“Our deal is up, Maeve. Today was my last night working for you. Now I want the information you promised.”

Her aunt smiled like a snake, vicious yet beautiful.

“That is quite odd. You see, I don’t remember signing any sort of contract with you regarding an exchange of information.”

Aelin froze. No. She had not come this far to be screwed over.

“Maeve, you promised. You said one month of working for you and I was free to go with the information I needed.”

“I remember no such thing. However, since you mentioned it, you seem to have given me an idea.” Her aunt purred.

* * *

“This is a restricted area. You need to leave.” Growled one of the employees when he spotted the two women in the hallway.

Lysandra prowled forward, a sugary sweet smile on her face.

“I’m so sorry. We were looking for the bathroom and got lost.”

He crossed his arms over his broad chest and looked down at the beauty.

“Get. Out.” He snarled.

Lysandra’s face fell and before she could so much as blink, Manon swung her fist at his head and sent him flying to the floor. He crumpled on the ground and the two women instantly started sliding his body to the storeroom.

“We have to be quick before people start looking for him.” Groaned Manon as she opened the door. They tied him to one of the metal pipes on the wall, gagging his mouth, and set to work organising their equipment.

When they had everything in their respective backpacks, the two women snuck from the storage room and sprinted for the security systems, careful to avoid the cameras where they could. If everything was going according to plan, Aelin would be with Maeve now, distracting her.

Lysandra just prayed that her friend was okay.

* * *

“Think of this month as simply a trial. You have quadrupled the customer intake since your arrival, raising our net funds by 350 percent. You cannot possibly expect me to let you go now,” Maeve smiled.

Aelin was taken aback. She had known full well that her Aunt was a manipulative bitch, but to pretend as though she had never promised Aelin a thing… shit.

“So what, you expect me to stay here for another month?” Aelin demanded.

“Oh no dear, I expect you to stay for another 5 years.”

Aelin gaped.

“You are free to leave now, if you so wish, but you will be returning back to Rifthold with no information from me,” Her aunt checked her perfectly shaped fingernails. “Perhaps with a haunting sense of guilt too.”

Her aunt’s last words made Aelin’s entire body freeze.

“Why guilt?” she asked slowly, her eyes flicking to the screens behind her aunt to check Lysandra and Manon. She caught sight of them tampering with cables and wires, frantically typing codes into a computer, before every screen went black. Aelin almost breathed a sigh of relief that at least one thing had gone right. Lysandra had done it, cutting off all the security systems and redirecting them to Dorian’s laptop in the car.

Her Aunt failed to notice, instead she gave Aelin an serpent’s smile.

“Because, my dearest niece, if you decide to leave then poor Rowan will face the consequences.”

Aelin felt her heart stop.

No. No, her aunt couldn’t know. She had tried so hard to keep him out of this. Sensing her panic now, Maeve stood up in her chair and pushed a button on her desk.

“Don’t bring anyone else into this.” Aelin gritted out.

“Unfortunately, I don’t play my games that way. Perhaps you need to see a demonstration.”

Suddenly, a door opened in the side of Maeve’s office, and out stepped Lorcan and Gavriel. Aelin nearly gagged at the sight of Rowan dangling between the two of them, face already bloodied and bruised as his feet dragged behind him. He tried and failed to raise his head, and it took all of Aelin’s self control not to run to him. Instead she planted her feet on the ground and turned back to her Aunt.

“What is the point of this?” she asked Maeve, her gut twisting as she weaved indifference between her words.

“There is no need to put up this facade, dearest Aelin. You think that I only had one set of eyes on you this whole time? You stupid, stupid girl.” Her Aunt tilted her head to the side. “Perhaps I should give you an example of what will happen if you leave. Boys,” She said, snapping her fingers. Lorcan and Gavriel were instantly lowering Rowan in a chair, and took up positions in front of him, fighting stances that Aelin knew too well.

The next words out of her aunt’s mouth were the most horrible thing she had ever heard.

“Beat him.”

* * *

Lysandra and Manon were sprinting for the storage room now. They had to get out. If they were caught, it would ruin the elaborate plan Aelin had formed the night before. Lysandra had no doubt in her mind that if Maeve caught either of them in her club, they might not make it back out…

The thought spurred them on as they pushed open the storage room door and grabbed their things, throwing them out the window. As fast as she could, Lysandra slipped out the window and into Aedion’s waiting arms once more. Her part was done. Manon slipped out after her, sliding to the ground on her own as Aedion checked Lysandra for injuries.

“I’m fine.” She whispered, brushing his hands away gently.

Aedion looked her in the eyes and Lysandra felt her heart flutter at the intensity she saw behind his Ashryver irises.

Lysandra nudged his chest and nodded to the wall of the building where two sets of grappling equipment had been set up. Manon was already testing out her ropes, strapping herself into a harness.

Aedion sighed but let Lysandra go, walking over to the other set of equipment he had laid out. Lysandra spared him one last glance before she jogged to the car. Dorian let her in silently and the two sat in the backseat, watching Maeve’s office from his laptop. Lysandra sighed in relief when she saw that it had worked. She had remembered all of the correct codes and sequences, disconnecting the cameras and redirecting them to Dorian. If something went wrong, he would see it and Aedion and Manon would get Aelin out.

From where the camera was positioned, they couldn’t see Aelin’s face, but her whole body froze as she looked to the side.

“Something is wrong.” Lysandra started. She couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped her when she saw what Aelin was looking at.  
Rowan was dragged in by a dark-haired man and… Aedion. Lysandra glanced away from the laptop to where he was currently climbing up the side of the building with Manon. Strange. Lysandra looked back to the screen.

Aelin and Maeve were exchanging words, Aelin’s body still tense. Then Maeve nodded and the two men pushed Rowan into a chair, and Lysandra saw that his face was already bloodied and bruised.

“Shit.” Dorian murmured from beside her.

Aelin was frantically talking now, but was silenced when her aunt said some simple words and one of the men threw a punch straight at Rowan’s face.

Aelin screamed and the man who looked like Aedion grabbed her by the waist, keeping her away from both her Aunt and Rowan.

“We have to do something.” Dorian said, pulling out his phone to message Manon, ready to retrieve their friend. But Lysandra stopped him, as much as it pained her.

“No. Aelin hasn’t given us a signal yet. We don’t interfere until she tells us to.”

Dorian sighed but put his phone down, and together they watched Aelin’s personal hell unfold.

* * *

Aelin’s screams turned hoarse as she watched Lorcan slam his fist into Rowan’s face again and again. She struggled against Gavriel as best she could, but he was too strong.

“It was a valiant effort you know,” her Aunt started, “trying to convince me that you didn’t have feelings for him. It’s a shame that you didn’t force him away sooner. Maybe then I wouldn’t have detected it.”

With each taunt from Maeve, Rowan tried to lift his head, as if to look at Aelin, but with each attempt, Lorcan would just hit him again. Aelin growled, the noise so guttural that Gavriel tightened his hold on her.

Blood was leaking out of Rowan’s nose, his mouth, dripping onto his shirt. Lorcan hit him again, so hard that Rowan’s head snapped to the side. Aelin screamed again, tears leaking down her face. No. This couldn’t be happening.

Maeve smiled.

“This can all stop Aelin, just say the word. Say you’ll work for me and I’ll make it stop.” She purred.

Rowan groaned softly and Aelin nearly agreed to it right then and there. Until she realised that he had said ‘no.’

She glared at her Aunt.

“Let him go and I’ll sign whatever you want me to.” Aelin begged.

“Hmmm,” Maeve tapped her chin, “I don’t think that can happen. You see, Rowan has signed a little contract with me for life. Which means that this is all in his job description. So no, I won’t be letting him go until I have it on paper that you’ll be working for me too.”

Aelin took a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm the anger that was bubbling inside her. For her friends, for Rowan, she could be calm.

As her Aunt spoke, Aelin felt Gavriel’s arms slowly loosen around her. Too much for him to be unaware that he was doing it. Rowan had told her that Gavriel was his best friend here, and perhaps the golden-haired man was doing all he could to help save his friend. She took the opportunity.

Gavrial’s arms still wrapped around her waist, Aelin swung a leg up above her head with such force that when it connected with Gavriel’s nose, thanks to their significant height difference, she heard the distinct crack of broken cartilage. It sent him reeling back, his arms slipping from around her frame. Lorcan was on her in a second, but she ducked out of his grip and slid across the floor until she was next to Rowan. Maeve was on her feet, hands fisted at her sides. 

“Grab her!” she screamed at the men, but Aelin continued to evade them as they lunged for her. Using Rowan’s chair as leverage, she kicked Lorcan hard in the stomach and watched as he stumbled back a few paces. Gavriel was holding his nose, blood pouring through his fingers. Aelin could have sworn he a gave her a tiny nod, encouraging her to keep going. Then he was running at her, fist swinging. She ducked and he ran past her, but before he could slow himself and turn back to face her, she sent him careening into a wall with a kick to his back. His face slammed against the wall and he fell to the ground.

Aelin slid to Rowan, crouching in front of him and frantically began untying the ropes that his hands had been bound together with. She watched his eyelids flicker to reveal his green eyes, but close again as if he didn’t have the energy to keep them open. He was so exhausted that they hadn’t even bothered to tie his arms behind his back… or perhaps Gavriel had just been looking out for his friend. Either way Aelin was grateful as she pulled at the knots, slowly loosening them.

Lorcan growled from behind her and Aelin didn’t have time to face him before his arms were around her waist, pulling her up and away from Rowan. Aelin growled back, fingernails scratching and slicing the man’s forearms. Lorcan just squeezed her tighter, so Aelin struck like an asp.

Lorcan swore as she slammed her heel into his foot, his grip on her waist vanishing. Before he could blink, she positioned a foot onto the small part of chair that was exposed between Rowan’s legs and kicked herself off it, using the momentum to soar backwards through the air. She landed in a crouch behind Lorcan, and swiftly brought a foot up between his legs. The man collapsed to the ground with a groan.

She turned to face her aunt. Maeve’s face was a mask of pure fury, and Aelin couldn’t help but feel smug at the sight.

“Give me the information I need, and let Rowan go.” Aelin gritted out.

“Why should I?” Her Aunt snarled.

Aelin grinned.

“Because if you don’t, I will burn Doranelle to the ground.”

* * *

Rowan was exhausted. They had beaten him all day, although Lorcan seemed to enjoy it more than Gavriel. Rowan had taken it without complaint. Maeve had found out about Aelin … about what she meant to him. So if this was to be his punishment, he would take it. They had beat him so viciously, that Rowan began to slip in and out of consciousness. He had no idea how much time had passed when he had been dragged into Maeve’s office. Rowan had been too hurt to register what was going on straight away, but he heard Aelin’s voice and he knew Maeve had punished him for a greater purpose. Maeve had used him to get to Aelin. To make her comply with whatever bargain she had created. In that moment, Rowan had never hated himself more. He had let himself be used as a tool against Aelin.

His mind fogged over, but he heard her voice shine through the murk of his mind. She fought for him, at first bargaining with her Aunt, then going up against Lorcan and Gavriel to help him.

He felt her hands struggle to untie the ropes at his wrists, and he opened his eyes for as long as he could, watching as her attention fixed on his face. She was so beautiful, and even with the panic and fear written across her features, she would always make his heart stop.

But then unconsciousness slid across his senses, sending him back into a spiral of darkness. Before he knew what had happened, Aelin’s voice filled his head once more.

“Because if you don’t, I will burn Doranelle to the ground.”

No. No, Aelin couldn’t be making threats that big. She had no idea what Maeve had in place.

Rowan used every ounce of energy left in him to slowly raise his head, undetected by everyone else.

Maeve glared at Aelin, before breaking out in a sly grin.

“Is that so dearest niece?” she purred. “Well I regret to inform you that even if you did, and managed to escape back to Rifthold, the security systems in place would have picked up every word of this conversation. Before you knew it, the Wendlyn police force would be after you. After I supply them with the security footage, of course.”

Aelin smirked and tilted her head to one side. The grin disappeared from Maeve’s face.

“Is that so?” was all Aelin said.

Maeve whipped her head around to look at the wall of blank CCTV screens behind her. When the woman turned her head to Aelin again, her face was a mask of pure rage.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here she is!! The final instalment of But She’s Looking at You! I just wanted to say thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it :)

Aelin smirked at Maeve, who was shaking with rage as she took in the blank CCTV screens behind her. Her plan had been unfolding perfectly until her Aunt brought Rowan in. He was still sitting in the bloodied chair, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Rowan slowly lift his head. He had been so horribly beaten that Aelin wasn’t even sure if he’d be okay, but at least he was awake.

Before she could inspect him further, Maeve spun around and snarled at her, eyes ablaze with pure loathing.

“As I was saying,” Aelin purred, “give me the information I need and let Rowan go. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Maeve’s nostrils flared with rage, and Aelin waited while her Aunt thought it over. Then her beautiful mouth broke into a sly smile.

“You’re bluffing, aren’t you dear?” she said slowly.

Without breaking her Aunt’s stare, Aelin pulled out a small gold lighter from the pocket of her jeans. She saw Rowan stiffen slightly, the movement so small it was almost undetectable. She knew that the pieces had fallen into place in his mind.

“No, dear Aunt, I’m not. You see, while you’ve been here listening to yourself talk, I’ve had someone leaking all of the gas lines around Doranelle, this room included. So if I so much as light a single flame in here…. well I think you know far too well what will happen.”

With each word Aelin spoke, Maeve’s smile morphed into a glower.

“If what you’re saying is true, then you and all the innocent people in this building would die. Burnt to death.”

Aelin didn’t let herself pause, “Big risk to take, isn’t it Maeve?”

Her Aunt didn’t reply as she glared around the room, at Lorcan and Gavriel still unconscious on the floor, at Rowan who was now staring back at his boss with undiluted hate. Aelin could see the wheels turning in her Aunt’s mind as Maeve weighed up her options thoroughly.

Eventually the black-haired woman breathed a frustrated sigh through her nose and lowered herself back into her chair, arms bracing on her desk.

“Fine. Let’s talk.”

* * *

Rowan could hardly believe what he was hearing. Aelin had done it. She had called ‘check-mate’ in what seemed like a never-ending battle between her and Maeve. Aelin spared a glance at him then, probably checking that he was alive and nothing more. But as her stunning eyes met his, he was shocked at the pain that poured out of her. Was it pain for his injuries, or simply because she had been the cause? He didn’t know, and he wasn’t able to consider it before Maeve started once again.

“What do you need to know?” she ground out.

“I want the money, Maeve.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

Aelin paused for a moment, considering something, before starting again.

“The money that was rightfully left to me after my parents were killed, probably by you. Or did you think I would be too stupid to work out who had taken it?”

Rowan froze. She had never told him that she thought Maeve was behind her parent’s death. Hadn’t even hinted to it.

Maeve crossed her slender hands under her chin and rested on the desk.

“What proof do you have that I had anything to do with either … unfortunate event?”

Aelin simply threw the lighter into the air before catching it, over and over again, considering her words. It was the same lighter that she had bought with him. His breath had caught in his throat when he first saw it, not only because it had been a slap in the face to remember a time when he was actually happy, but because it suddenly occurred to him how long Aelin had been planning this. For weeks, months even.

Aelin caught the lighter and stilled.

“Who else would have been in a position to gain anything from it? You were my only remaining blood relative who was also old enough to be my guardian. In terms of the money… you’ve always been rich, but I’m sure you wouldn’t waste any of your own precious funds on building a five-storey night club.”

Maeve’s mouth twisted into a small smile.

“I just can’t help but wonder why you never went to a lawyer about these idea’s of yours?”

Rowan realised that Maeve was choosing her words carefully, making sure that she didn’t admit to anything.

“Because,” Aelin growled, “you know full well that the lifestyle you shoved me into would make me a target for the police. Pit fights aren’t exactly legal in Adarlan.”

Maeve had left her to live that life? So that Aelin would never be able to exact justice? Rowan bristled.

“What do you want me to do, sweet Aelin? Write you a cheque for thirty milion dollars? I doubt the bank would let that slide past them easily.”

Holy God… Aelin’s parents must have been incredibly important for her inheritance to be such a massive sum. It was no wonder Maeve wanted steal it from her. He thought he had worked Aelin out, but he was so wrong. Who was she?

Aelin merely smiled.

“No no, I’ve already taken most the money out out over the past few months.”

Maeve stilled.

“The business partner you’ve been working with recently? Mr. Archer Flynn? Let’s just say that he ran into some trouble shortly after your first meeting with him and … well it wasn’t hard to fake his movements around Rifthold, or to flash his money around town to make your spies believe he was a serious contender for an investment in your business endeavours. It’s a shame your lackeys never thought to wait and see him without his hoodie on… maybe then you would have realised it was all a ploy. Especially since his body is currently rotting in Riftholds sewers.”

Maeve was shaking now, the rage so strong she could barely keep it contained.

“So I have been sending you letter and emails for months, urging you to send me the money to build our casino in Rifthold, and you stupidly did. So oblivious to the fact you were being used, since you cannot fathom the possibility of falling from this pedestal you sit on.

“The last of the money I was hoping you could give to me in cash. It’s only about five thousand I believe, and if my snooping serves me correctly then the safe behind that ugly painting contains approximately ten-grand.”

Maeve’s face was red now, nails digging into the desk.

“You little bitch,” she seethed.

“Takes one to know one.”

Rowan couldn’t help but breathe a laugh. At her retort, and the entire situation. Both women whipped their heads around to look at him. Aelin gave him a grin that lit up her eyes.

“As for Rowan, I’ve already had the system wiped of the digital copy of his contract. So if you could do me a favour and fetch the original hard copy, that would be brilliant, and since it’s no doubt in the safe then you can grab the money while you’re at it.”

* * *

Aelin watched as Maeve slowly rose from her chair and stepped around it. Heels clicking against the dark floor, Maeve walked to large the painting of Medusa’s severed head. She slid the painting across the wall, attached to tracking that was hidden behind its obnoxious frame, revealing the small safe.

“I’m on a tight schedule. I’d appreciate it if you could hurry it up, dear Aunt.” She taunted, only because she wasn’t sure how much longer Rowan would stay conscious for.

Maeve snarled, but punched in the numbers and opened the door with a loud ‘click’.

She reached a hand in, the sound of papers shuffling filling the room.

Then, fast as an asp, she spun to face them. An arm extended as she clasped a handgun in her delicate fingers, the barrel pointed directly at Aelin.

“Perhaps next time you should follow me to the safe.”

Aelin felt her body go stiff at the sight of the gun. She heard a chair scrape against the floor on the other side of the room, followed by grunts as Rowan heaved himself up.

“No. Maeve, don’t hurt her,” he ground out. Aelin didn’t have to look to know blood was still leaking from his mouth.

Maeve pursed her lips at him as her eyes flicked to his stumbling form.

“How noble of you, trying to save her,” she purred. “Haven’t you realised by now that you were nothing but a pawn in her game? You’re worthless to her. Why on earth would she ever love you? A washed-up nobody with a-“

“Rowan, don’t listen to her. I don’t think that. I would never think that.” Aelin said, praying that he could hear the emotion in her voice.

Maeve simply cocked the gun, and although she said nothing, the threat rang loud and clear. One more stray word from Aelin, and she would find herself with a bullet between her eyes.

It was enough to make Rowan stop his slow shuffle across the room. Aelin could feel him a few feet behind her, somewhere to her right.

Her Aunt took a few taunting steps closer, though still too far out of reach. If only Aelin could get the gun off her…

“Rowan stays with me,” Maeve growled, “and I want my money back now.”

Aelin snarled, unable to stop the sound from leaving her throat.

“Go to hell,” she growled at her Aunt.

Maeve stared at her for a long moment, eyes narrowed. Then, before Aelin could blink, she moved her arm to her right and fired the gun.

Directly at Rowan.

* * *

Lysandra gasped as she watched Rowan crumble to the floor, clutching his stomach. Aelin screamed silently, the emotion on her face evident even through the laptop screen.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit,” Dorian swore from beside her.

Blood was already pouring out Rowan’s stomach and pooling around his body. This definitely wasn’t a part of the plan.

Her eyes were planted firmly on her friend, waiting for the signal to send in Aedion and Manon. Aelin had given her firm instructions the night before.

‘Dont, under any circumstance, send them in until I give the signal.’

“Come on Aelin,” Lysandra whispered to the screen. Just give the sign… any second now she would – there. Both Dorian and Lysandra saw Aelin’s hand reach behind her back and make the signal – a tightened fist that then burst open, fingers extending.

Only a second passed before Lysandra called Aedion. He picked up instantly.

“Time to go?” he asked, hushed.

“Get in there now. Maeve pulled out a gun and shot Rowan. Aelin is next. Go, go, go,” she said as quickly as she could.

Aedion hung up, and Lysandra watched as he and Manon ran across the rooftop of Doranelle, then slid down the ropes they had set up earlier and slammed feet-first through Maeve’s office window.

* * *

Aelin couldn’t hold back the sobs as she turned to run toward Rowan, but Maeve stopped her with a simple, “ah-ah-ahh.”

Maeve gestured with the gun and Aelin turned back around to face her, tears dripping off her chin.

“I suppose a gas leak would have killed us all. Next time, don’t bluff yourself through a situation, dear.”

Off to her left she could hear Lorcan and Gavriel start to get up, lifted from unconsciousness by the sound of the gunshot.

“Shit,” Gavriel said in horror as he took in his friends bleeding form.

Maeve held out a hand to stop them from walking any further. Then fixed her attention solely on her niece.

“You have been a thorn in my side since the day you were born.” She took leisurely steps toward Rowan as she did so. Aelin didn’t turn to watch her.

“I thought I’d gotten rid of you when I threw you onto the streets of Rifthold, hoped at best you would be scooped up by a brothel madam. You were young enough when your parents died that I hoped it would all appear like a bad dream to you.”

She was directly behind Aelin now, standing beside Rowan, his grunts the only noise in the room as he tried to stunt his bleeding.

“Now,” her Aunt continued, “I’m going to pluck this sweet rose. Unfortunately for you, I don’t need you breathing to retrieve my money. It’s truly a shame you didn’t just stay out of my way, dear child. Maybe then you would have lived.”

Aelin heard Maeve cock the gun another time, and take her aim. Slowly, Aelin turned to face her Aunt, who’s red lips parted in a serpentine smile as she watched her niece accept death.

Rowan lay next to Maeve’s feet, blood pooling against the dark floor. So much blood that Aelin couldn’t comprehend how he was still conscious. He should be dead, she realised with a shudder. This was her fault. All of it was her fault. If she was going to die, then she would tell him the truth.

“Rowan,” she said softly. His eyes lifted to meet hers. The vibrant green had dulled as if the life had drained out of him. She continued.

“You mean more to me than you will ever realise. You were the first person in my life that understood me, and didn’t judge me for it. You showed me that there was more to life than I had ever thought possible. Even though I only knew you for a month, I felt like I had known you my entire life, and…. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I got you dragged into this, because Maeve knew how I felt. She knew I…. She knew I loved you. For as long as I live, I will be sorry. Perhaps even after that.”

Rowan was motionless, green eyes shining as he realised what she said. She had said it. For once in her life she had told someone the truth.

Maeve tilted her head as she looked between Aelin and Rowan.

“How sweet.”

She slid her finger against the trigger and began to pull.

Aelin closed her eyes.

* * *

The pain in Rowan’s abdomen was unlike anything he could imagine. He had been shot before, mostly during his time in the police force, but nothing this serious. His blood had now soaked through his clothes, his hair, but it still poured out of him.

With each second that passed he felt his life drip away. He had his hand pressed to hard against the wound that his fingers were going numb. Or perhaps that was the blood loss.

But all of that pain and worry had eased when Aelin spoke to him. When she said those words. ‘I love you.’

For a brief moment Rowan had been transported back, to a time when Aelin was curled up against him while he played with her hair, her forehead pressed to his chest as they lay on her bed. She had looked up at him then, her eyes soft as she pressed a kiss to his pectoral. The motion so gentle that his heart had skipped a beat.

Rowan realised in that moment that Aelin had been in love with him. Not only that, but she had been for a long while.

As the memory faded, and Maeve muttered some words, Rowan gathered the last of his strength. He would do this. If it was the last thing he did, he would do this for Aelin. Because he loved her.

Maeve’s finger moved to pull the trigger, and Rowan kicked his leg out. Smacking Maeve in ankles so hard that she fell backwards. The shot rang out, and the bullet lodged itself in the ceiling.

Aelin was already running for them, refusing to miss a chance, just as he had hoped. But she didn’t move to get the gun off her Aunt. She came for him.

But the motion he made had torn the wound even further, and Rowan could feel himself flickering. Unconsciousness swept in for a few moments, but Aelin slapped him hard enough that his eyes sprung open once again.

“Stay with me Rowan. Stay with me.”

A heartbeat passed, when Rowan heard the sound of glass smashing. Behind Aelin’s shoulder Aedion and Manon were quickly unclipping ropes from harnesses and moving to fight Gavriel and Lorcan.

Aelin used that moment of Maeve’s distraction to rise and slam a foot into her stomach. The gun flew out of her manicured hand and Aelin wasted to time in grabbing it and taking aim.

On the other side of the room, Manon had quickly taken Lorcan down and was now helping Aedion.

Rowan might have been imagining things thanks to the blood loss, but he swore he heard Gavriel whisper, “Son?” before Aedion delivered a round-house kick to his gut.

Aelin inched back until she was once again at Rowan’s side. Without taking her aim off Maeve, she reached down and slid her arm around Rowan, heaving him up. Aedion and Manon quickly ran over and took over. They walked him to the window but Rowan could do very little to help them support his weight. His wound was screaming.

He heard Aelin’s shoes scuff against the floor as she walked to the safe and grabbed everything she needed, gun still pointed at Maeve. Then, slow as a tiger watching it’s prey, she came over to the window and dropped the money in one of the backpacks Manon had brought. Aedion was pressing Rowan’s hands against the rope, whispering instructions to him, “You just need to hold on for five seconds. That’s it. The car will be right there, and then we can get you sorted out.”

Rowan nodded, though it was an effort to do so.

Maeve growled from across the room, anger seeping out of her in waves.

Aelin held the gun and papers in her hand. Rowan’s contract, he realised.

She once again pulled out the gold lighter from her pocket and flicked it open.

“Rowan comes with me. The money is mine.”

She pressed the paper to the edge of the flame and the heat quickly began to eat away at the contract.

Aelin checked her watch briefly.

“Also, I wasn’t completely bluffing about the gas leak. I rigged it to start in approximately two minutes. So you can either stay here and burn, or get the hell out.”

Maeve’s eyes widened in shock, and then she narrowed them and snarled.

“I will find you again Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and when I do you will be dead before you even realise what is happening.”

Galathynius…. as in the royal family of Terrasen? Rowan was obviously losing his mind.

Aelin dropped the papers to the ground and checked her nails, bored.

“Sounds like a bucket of fun, Maeve. See you in hell.”

Rowan didn’t get to see what happened next because Aedion told him once again to hold one before he threw Rowan out the window. His palms burned as they slid against the rope, but he held on. The ground loomed closer and spots clouded his vision. Manon slid on the rope across from him, and when he reached the bottom she ran to help him to the back of the van. The doors opened and he saw Lysandra and Dorian waiting for him, ready with bandages and bottles of disinfectant. Rowan vaguely recalled Aelin saying that Dorian was in his fourth year at med school, studying to be a surgeon. Lucky him.

Manon pushed Rowan into the back and he lay flat on his back. Dorian’s face loomed over him.

“Not going to lie, we were expecting Aelin to be in this position, not you.”

Rowan couldn’t imagine anything worse.

He felt the tentative hands of Lysandra prodding at his face, checking to see what had been broken.

The next thing he knew, Aelin jumped in the back and started shouting. “IS HE ALRIGHT?” She crouched next to him, hands resting on either side of his face.

“Rowan! Are you okay? I’m so sorry.” She started sobbing. He lifted a hand to hers, caressing a thumb over her skin, which only made her cry harder. 

“I’m fine, Aelin. Thank you for saving me,” he whispered.

He was vaguely aware that the van was moving now.

“I love you, Buzzard,” she growled at him.

He chuckled at the nickname, despite everything that had just happened.

“I love you too, Fireheart.”

A large BOOM sounded from behind them then, making the very ground they were driving on begin to shake.

“Maeve’s office?” he guessed.

Aelin’s grin was her only reply.

* * *

Two months later

Aelin’s cries of pleasure died down, though her heart was still racing. Rowan gently eased himself out of her, planting kisses along her collarbone as he did. They lay there for a few minutes, panting against one another, skin slick with sweat. Rowan moved his kisses to her neck, and she suddenly found it very hard to focus.

“You’re distracting me,” she said, breathless.

He nipped at her throat.

“You needed distracting.”

Aelin couldn’t argue with that. She had been finalising her plans to go after Arobynn with such an eye for detail that her head had started spinning. Rowan was good at knowing when she needed to be dragged out of her research. Hence how they had ended up like this – Aelin’s back pressed against the soft pillows of their bed as he ravaged her.

They had moved into her apartment in Rifthold and for the first time in her life, Aelin was truly happy. She knew Rowan felt the same.

His kisses moved lower, between her breasts, and it became hard to breathe.

Aelin had always believed it fate. That tug that had led her to Wendlyn in search for her Aunt… Perhaps it had been meant to lead her to Rowan the entire time. She would never know.

But as Rowan pressed kisses against her abdomen, she decided it didn’t matter.

Fate or coincidence she didn’t care. Because all she knew was that she would be eternally grateful.

The end.


End file.
